tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14267671127453939582014-10-03T08:28:43.759+04:00State minister For reintegrationdeafult site www.smr.gov.geState Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.comBlogger134125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-11734446106860754172008-09-22T11:40:00.001+04:002008-09-22T14:11:48.945+04:00Media and telephone intercepts confirm Russia started the war<strong>Mounting evidence shows that Russian forces were first to move into the Georgian region of South Ossetia.</strong><br /><br />This document presents evidence gleaned from• Publicly available Russian and western media sources and• Telephone intercepts of the Georgian intelligence services, described as credible by Western intelligence agencies and undenied by Russia.This document first presents a summary of the evidence. A second section follows listing the stories and their web links, reproducing extracts in the original language and, where necessary, adding a translation into English.The intercepts and the stories confirm that units of the Russian 58th Army moved into South Ossetia first, forcing the Georgian Armed Forces to react.The EvidenceTelephone interceptsEarly in the morning of August 7, at 3:41 am and 3:52 am, Georgian intelligence intercepted two mobile telephone conversations held by a South Ossetian border guard posted at the Roki tunnel by the name of Gassiev. His first name is unknown.Georgia provided the intercepts to US and European intelligence agencies and senior American officials have already found them to be credible. The Russian Federation has disputed their importance, but has not denied their authenticity.The New York Times independently translated and analyzed the transcripts. The full story appears in section 2.At 3.41 a.m., Gassiev told a supervisor at the South Ossetian border guard headquarters that a Russian colonel had asked Ossetian guards to inspect military vehicles that “crowded” the tunnel. Mr. Gassiev said, “The commander, a colonel, approached and said, ‘The men with you should check the vehicles.’ Is that O.K.?” When asked who this commander was, Gassiev continued, “I don’t know. Their superior. The one in charge there. The BMPs and other vehicles were sent here and they have crowded there. The men are also standing around. And he said that we should inspect the vehicles. I don’t know. And he went out.”At 3:52, Gassiev spoke to the supervisor again and informed him that armored vehicles had left the tunnel, commanded by a colonel he called Kazachenko. The supervisor asked Gassiev, “Listen, has the armor arrived or what?” Gassiev replied, “The armor and people.” Asked if they had gone through the tunnel, he said, “Yes; 20 minutes ago. When I called you they had already arrived.” Supervisor: “Are they a lot, much military vehicles?” Gassiev: “Well, Tanks, armored carriers and that.”These intercepts show that significant Russian forces, enough to “crowd” the Roki tunnel, entered South Ossetia some 20 hours before Georgian forces counterattacked.The New York Times reports that senior American officials find the intercepts to be “credible”.Significantly, Russia has not disputed the authenticity of the intercepts; merely their importance. The Russian explanation that these calls refer to a routine rotation of their peacekeeping troops is false. According to the peace agreement in force at that time, any rotation should have happened during daylight and all relevant parties should have been notified (i.e. the Georgian Government and OSCE) a month ahead of time. The previous rotation of Russian forces was in May 2008.Furthermore, prior to the publication of these intercepts, the Russian side had never mentioned any rotation on August 7 in any of their communications (e.g. their timeline of events, public data or statements) and it insisted that its troops entered the region only at noon on August 8.Western intelligence findings boost the credibility of these transcripts. Again according to the New York Times, the western services independently found that two battalions of the 135th Regiment moved through Roki either the night of August7 or the early morning of August 8.The New York Times story appears in the next section of this document.Why is this evidence only coming to light now, a month after the war started?The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs monitors mobile communications in South Ossetia carried over the Magti mobile network. Magti, which is one of Georgia’s three big providers, has an excellent network across the South Ossetia region, covering the territory with 20 cell towers. The local alternative is Ostelecom, a provider backed by the Russian Megafon network. It has a much more restricted reach based on a system of 5 cell towers, mostly serving the high-density areas around Tskhinvali. Crucially, it does not reach deep into the countryside. For that reason, Magti is widely preferred in the territory, especially by people who need to roam rural areas, such as officials, militia, border guards, truck and taxi drivers etc. They widely use Magti despite instructions by the separatist government to use Ostelecom.The Georgian Interior Ministry seeks to monitor all communications between officials in the territory. In line with legal requirements, the Ministry of Internal Affairs monitored the conversations of a significant number of officials of the paramilitary structures of the de facto authorities involved in illegal activitiesGeorgia’s Interior Minister received a report on the intercepts from Georgian counter-intelligence within hours of recording. He relayed the information to the President and other members of Government.The file with the recordings was lost during the war when the surveillance team moved operations from Tbilisi, the capital, to the central city of Gori. Georgian intelligence officers later sifted through 6,000 files to retrieve copies.This analysis is not complete. Hundreds of recordings remain to be evaluated. It is, therefore, possible that fresh evidence will become known in the coming days or weeks.Media storiesThe evidence gleaned from the telephone intercepts is corroborated by stories that have appeared in both Russian and Western media.These are summarised here; the next section lists links and the Russian originals.1. In a story from August 4, life.ru describes the relocation of units of the Russian 58th Army and of a regiment of the Pskov-based 76th Airborne Division to the Georgian border, adjacent to the northern entrance to the Roki Tunnel:Several battalions of the 58th Army of the North-Caucasus Military District, with permanent bases in the territory of North Ossetia, have been brought to the border of South Ossetia. Soldiers and military hardware have been moved to the end of the Roki tunnel, the only route that connects the two Ossetian republics.As was reported to LIFE.RU sources in the republic, the movement of military units started on the night of 2nd to 3rd August. Reportedly, convoys of military forces began moving out from their bases in the Kirov region of North Ossetia (in Elkhotovo village) and from Ardone. The relocation of Russian hardware to the proximity of the Roki tunnel means these troops can support the Peacekeeping Forces as quickly as possible.2. In a story from September 11, newsru.com analyses the movements of the 58th Army and concludes as follows :“On August 7, the Russian regiment received an order to move towards Tskhinvali. It was set on alert and before nightfall reached the positions prescribed. By midnight it was possible to see the outbreak of shelling in Tskhinvali from where regiment was located.Between the Roki Tunnel and Tskhinvali there is only one such place [to see the shelling of Tskhinvali] : the village of Djava. So, the 135th regiment entered South Ossetia before the Georgian attack on Tskhinvali.”3. In an interview with the Russian Ministry of Defence’s publication Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star), Russian armed forces Captain Sedristyi confirms his unit was ordered to Tskhinvali on August 7:‘"We were at the exercises,” captain Sedristyi starts his story. “It is not so far from the capital of South Ossetia, Lower Zaramakh—a nature preserve in North Ossetia. That's the place where we had our camp after the exercises, but on 7 August we were ordered to move towards Tskhinvali. We were raised on an alarm – and sent on a march."’Krasnaya Zvezda changed the date in its story from August 7 to August 8 following questions from Western media. Captain Sedristyi, it was explained, confused the dates because of an injury sustained during the fighting. According to the New York Times, Captain Sedristyi cannot be reached. The extract of the story in the next section quotes the original; the links to the doctored story and the original, kept in a Google cache, are given.4. On August 15, the daily Permskie Novosti, reporting about the war, quotes a conversation between a soldier and his mother:“ I have very little time, - the kid went on. – Look: we are here since 7 August. Well, the whole of our 58th army.”5. On August 17, Komsomoslkaya Pravda quotes Sergeant Alexander Plotnikov of the 693rd regiment of the 58th Army, who was interviewed in Rostov after being wounded in the fighting:“The gossip that the war would start soon went around in our regiment in the beginning of August. Nobody spoke about it officially. We understood everything, though, after two companies of our regiment were sent to the mountains, not far from Tskhinvali.”6. On September 2, Vadim Rachkovsky, a journalist for Moskovskyi Komsomolets, wrote on his blog:“As to the tank column. I see nothing particular about that. Attention! This is verified and nobody makes a secret from the fact that the battalion-tactical group of 693rd regiment of 58th army used to regularly move towards South Ossetia for military duty. And that’s from where they moved to Tskhinvali. Maybe this happened on August 7, maybe even earlier. This was not for the first time. Each time tension was rising, our tanks advanced to this direction. So, in this case Saakashvili says the truth.”7. According to BBC Monitoring World Media Monitor, on August 7, the Abkhaz separatist leader Sergei Bagapsh told Rossiya TV that a Russian battalion had entered the conflict zone:Abkhaz leader says Russian troops deployed in South OssetiaThe president of the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, Sergey Bagapsh, has said that a Russian military battalion has entered the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia. His remarks, made at a meeting of the Abkhaz security council, were broadcast by the Russian state-owned TV channel Rossiya on 7 August. "I have spoken to the president of South Ossetia. It [the situation] has more or less stabilized now. A battalion of the North Caucasian [Military] District has entered the area," Bagapsh said. Source: Rossiya TV, Moscow, in Russian 1600 gmt 7 Aug 088. As the Russian military was preparing for the invasion, the Russian media was preparing to cover it. Said Tsarnayev, a freelance journalist working for Reuters, arrived in Tskhinvali on 7 August. In an article published on the website of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Tsarnayev is quoted as saying:‘"At the hotel we discovered that there were already 48 Russian journalists there. Together with us, there were 50 people," Tsarnayev said. "I was the only one representing a foreign news agency. The rest were from Russian media and they arrived three days before we did, as if they knew that something was going to happen. Earlier at the border crossing, we met one man who was taking his wife and children from Tskhinvali."’---ConclusionThe telephone intercepts, their analysis and the Western and Russian media stories all indicate that the Russian armed forces entered the territory of Georgia in South Ossetia many hours before Georgia decided to counterattack at Tskhinvali. Some had progressed at least as far as Djava before nightfall on August 7.The Georgian Armed Forces received intelligence on August 7 that Russian troops north of the border had received orders to roll into Georgia. They received this information hours before Georgia conducted its military operation in response to the Russian invasion.Military necessity dictated the choice of Tskhinvali as the objective for the Georgian counterattack, as any topographical map makes clear—it was the only way the Georgian army could move from its core territory to meet the advancing Russian columns. The counterattack aimed for military targets and did not significantly damage the town of Tskhinvali itself, as a study by the UN using satellite pictures makes clear. (See http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/freeproducts/Georgia/Russia_ConflictAug08/UNOSAT_GEO_Village_Damage_Summary_Tskhinvali_19aug08_Highres.pdf.)Moreover, the media stories and analyst reports support the view that the Russian military designed its exercises of July 2008 to prepare Russian troops for an invasion of Georgia. A leaflet entitled Know Your Enemy, which was distributed to participating soldiers confirmed this view (see annex). The leaflet makes the target of the exercise clear, detailing the composition and main armaments of the Georgian Army.Stories, translations and links1. life.ru description of relocation of Russian units: http://life.ru/news/27624/2. newsru.com analysis of the movements of the 58th Army“All roads lead to the Roki tunnel: the war started on provocative territory “11 September 2008http://newsru.com/russia/11sep2008/voshli.htmlThe regiment, which has a permanent place of deployment in the village Prokhladni near Nalchik, was posted in Nizhny Zaramag after the exercises (2 August), writes Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star).Nizhny Zaramag is located a few kilometers from the Roki tunnel’s northern entrance. A checkpoint and customs post are located in this village. Russia and Georgia have different views as to whom the Roki tunnel belongs to. The Roki pass includes the Roki tunnel; an essential part of the Transcaucasian road. The Roki tunnel is the only connection linking South and North Ossetia. The Mamisoni pass is, in fact, the border between Georgia and Russia. These are extremely important strategic places from a military point of view. A regiment of the 58th Army was located in close proximity to this border, in the city of Zaramag close to the Transcaucasus roadway, and was able to cross the border of South Ossetia in the shortest time.On August 7, the Russian regiment received an order to move towards Tskhinvali. It was set on alert and before nightfall reached the positions prescribed. By midnight it was possible to see the outbreak of shelling in Tskhinvali from where regiment was located.Between the Roki Tunnel and Tskhinvali there is only one such place [to see the shelling of Tskhinvali] : the village of Djava. So, the 135th regiment entered South Ossetia before the Georgian attack on Tskhinvali.Russian original:Все дороги ведут в Рокский тоннель: война началась на провокационной территории Полк, имеющий место постоянной дислокации в поселке Прохладный под Нальчиком, после окончания учений (2 августа) был размещен в Нижнем Зарамаге, пишет "Красная звезда".Нижний Зарамаг находится в нескольких километрах от северного портала Рокского тоннеля; в этом поселке находятся пропускной пункт и таможня.Принадлежность Рокского тоннеля Россия и Грузия рассматривают по-разному. Рокский перевал включает в себя Рокский тоннель - важнейшую часть Транскавказской магистрали. Это единственная дорога, соединяющая Южную и Северную Осетию. Мамисоновский перевал - по сути, граница между Грузией и Российской Федерацией. Это крайне важные стратегические плацдармы с военной точки зрения. В непосредственной близости к границе в районе города Зрамаг на Транскаме был расквартирован полк 58-й армии, который в краткие сроки способен перейти границу Южной Осетии, отмечал накануне боевых действий LIFE.ru.7 августа российский полк получил команду выдвигаться к Цхинвали, был поднят по тревоге и до исхода дня успел прибыть на предписанный рубеж выдвижения. После полуночи из расположения полка можно было наблюдать вспышки артиллерийского обстрела Цхинвали.Между Рокским тоннелем и Цхинвали такое место только одно - Джава. Итак, 135-й мотострелковый полк вступил на территорию ЮО до начала грузинской атаки на Цхинвали, полагают СМИ.3. Krasnaya Zvezda interview of captain Sedristyi:“Life Goes On”By Irina Zhirnova,Krasnaya Zvezda3 September 2008Doctored story at http://www.redstar.ru/2008/09/03_09/2_03.htmlOriginal story at http://74.125.39.104/search?q=cache:http://www.redstar.ru/2008/09/03_09/2_03.html“- We were at the exercises, - captain Sedristyi starts his story. – It is not so far from the capital of South Ossetia. Nizhnyr Zaramag - nature reserve in North Ossetia. That’s the place where we had our camp after the exercises, but on 7 August we got orders to move towards Tskhinvali. We were raised on an alert – and sent on a march.”Russian original:“- Мы были на учениях, - начинает рассказ капитан Сидристый. - Это относительно недалеко от столицы Южной Осетии. Нижний Зарамах - природный заповедник Северной Осетии. Вот там после плановых учений и стояли лагерем, но 7 августа пришла команда на выдвижение к Цхинвалу. Подняли нас по тревоге - и на марш.”4. Permskie Novosti interview of the mother of a soldier:“Soldiers from Perm got into the epicenter of the war”By Irina KizilovaPermskie Novosti15 August 2008http://www.permnews.ru/story.asp?kt=2912&amp;n=453During the morning of 10 August one of the mothers, who sent her son to Alania [in North Ossetia] less than 3 months ago received a call. “– Mom, I am just back from Tskhinvali.– What do you mean, from Tskhinvali?! There’s war down there! You were not supposed to be sent there!- I have very little time. Look: we are here since 7 August. Well, the whole of our 58th army. You are probably watching TV to find out what is going on over there? Today, we battled through from Tskhinvali to Vladikavkaz for arms supplies. Now we are going to fight through back there. That’s all, I am being called. Regards to everyone from me. Kiss you…Russian original:Утром 10 августа в доме одной из матерей, отправившей меньше трех месяцев назад своего сына в Аланию, раздался звонок. – Мама, я только что из Цхинвали. – Как из Цхинвали?! Там же война! Вас не должны были туда отправлять!– У меня очень мало времени, – продолжал мальчишка. – Слушай: мы там с 7 августа. Ну, вся наша 58-я армия. Ты же, наверное, смотришь по телику, что там происходит? Сегодня мы пробились из Цхинвала во Владикавказ за вооружением. Сейчас будем обратно пробиваться. Всё, зовут. Передавай всем привет. Целую…5. Komsomoslkaya Pravda interview of Sergeant Alexander Plotnikov:“We knew even in the beginning of August that the war would start”, Maria Zhuykova,Komsomolskaya Pravda17 August, 2008http://www.kp.ru/daily/24147/364238/“The gossip that the war would start soon went around in our regiment in the beginning of August. Nobody spoke about it officially. We understood everything, though, after two companies of our regiment were sent to the mountains, not far from Tskhinvali.”Russian original:“- Слухи о том, что, скоро будет война, стали ходить в полку в начале августа. Никто официально об этом не говорил. Но мы все поняли, когда две роты нашего полка переправили в горы, недалеко от Цхинвала.»6. Blog of Vadim Rachkovsky, the journalist with Moskovskyi Komsomolets:2 September 2008http://voinodel.livejournal.com/33871.html?thread=916559#t916559Question: Vadim…what about this strange column of tanks or some other heavy armored vehicles that allegedly entered South Ossetia through Roki Tunnel in the evening of August 7? Georgian representative to UN is mentioning this on every session.Answer: As to the tanks column. I see nothing particular about that. Attention! This is verified and nobody makes a secret from the fact that the battalion-tactical group of 693rd regiment of 58th army used to regularly move towards South Ossetia for military duty. And that’s where from they moved to Tskhinvali. Maybe this happened on August 7, maybe even earlier. This was not for the first time. Each time tension was rising, our tanks advanced to this direction. So, in this case Saakashvili says the truth. What else to do? Wait until these tanks would pass through Roki tunnel?Russian original:И что слышно насчёт этой непонятной танковой колонны или каких-то бронемашин, которые якобы прошли в Рокский туннель 7 августа вечером в сторону Южной Осетии? Грузинский представитель в ООН на каждом заседании говорит об этом?--------А насчёт танковой колонны. На самом деле вообще ничего особенного в этом факте не вижу. Внимание! Доподлинно известно и этот факт особо даже не скрывается что батальонно-тактическая группа 693-го полка 58 армии регулярно выдвигалась в сторону Южной Осетии на боевое дежурство. Оттуда они и на Цхинвали пошли. Может это было 7 августа, а может и раньше. И это случилось не впервой. При любом обострении обстановки наши танки туда выдвигались. Так что Саакашвили в данном случае говорит правду.А что ж на делать прикажете? Ждать, когда его танки в Рокский тоннель пройдут?7. BBC Monitoring 7th August report separatist leader Sergei Bagapsh interview on Rossiya TV:BBC World Monitor is a subscription service. No link can therefore be given.8. Interview of Reuters photographer Said Tsarnayev, in Tskhinvali on 7 August:Scene At Russia-Georgia Border Hinted At Scripted AffairBy Brian WhitmoreRADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTYAugust 23, 2008Said Tsarnayev stumbled into a war.A Chechen freelance photographer with the Reuters news agency, Tsarnayev arrived in the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, during the day on August 7. Travelling together with a colleague, Tsarnayev said he planned to take photographs of the environment and natural surroundings in the area for a project he was working on.Once in Tskhinvali, he discovered a virtual army of Russian journalists at his hotel.Speaking to RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service, Tsarnayev, a resident of the Chechen capital, Grozny, said the Moscow-based reporters had been sent from various Russian media outlets days earlier, and were preparing to cover something big."At the hotel we discovered that there were already 48 Russian journalists there. Together with us, there were 50 people," Tsarnayev said. "I was the only one representing a foreign news agency. The rest were from Russian media and they arrived three days before we did, as if they knew that something was going to happen. Earlier at the border crossing, we met one man who was taking his wife and children from Tskhinvali."Late that night, armed conflict broke out between Russia and Georgia.'No Relationship To Reality'Tsarnayev's account could not be independently confirmed. But it is consistent with mounting indications that Russia had been planning an attack on Georgia in advance, and was just waiting for a pretext to carry it out.Russia's state-controlled media seemed extremely well-prepared to cover the outbreak of armed conflict in Georgia. Television networks immediately presented elaborate graphics with news anchors and commentators appearing to stick to disciplined talking points accusing Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of aggression, and the Georgian armed forces of genocide and ethnic cleansing.The country's best English-speaking officials were made readily available to Western media, where they relentlessly pushed Moscow's line on the conflict: Russia was simply protecting its citizens and peacekeepers in South Ossetia from atrocities at the hands of Georgia's military.In an interview with RFE/RL in the early days of the conflict, Steven Pifer, a former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine who is now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said Moscow's rhetoric and media narrative suggests they were preparing a large-scale operation."The rhetoric that is coming out of Moscow, ethnic cleansing and genocide, is just way over the top," Pifer said. "It's almost approaching the point where there is just no relationship to reality. But again, certainly the rhetoric is appropriate to a larger operation against Georgia to just stop and reverse whatever military gains the Georgians made in South Ossetia on [August 7]."The apparently well-prepared media narrative is only part of the picture.On August 3, authorities in Georgia's Moscow-backed separatist province of South Ossetia began evacuating hundreds of children to Russia. At the time, Georgian officials said the move could be a signal that separatist authorities, and their patrons in Russia, were preparing an offensive.South Ossetian authorities said at the time that the evacuations were a precaution in case Georgia attempted to retake the province by force -- something Moscow and Tskhinvali had been accusing Tbilisi of plotting to do.Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on August 21, the deputy head of Russia's General Staff, Colonel General Anatoly Nogovitsyn, reiterated Moscow's claims that the Georgian side was preparing to use force."We have complaints against the OSCE regarding the initial stage of the conflict -- they were informed by the Georgian side that there would be an invasion, but they didn't warn the Russian peacekeepers," Nogovitsyn said.In remarks reported by "The Washington Post," Georgian Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili said he gave the order for Georgian forces to "go out from their bases" at 6 p.m. local time local time on August 7, just one hour before Saakashvili announced a unilateral cease-fire.Months In The WorksKezerashvili said the Georgian troop movement was designed to deter South Ossetian separatists, who were firing across the de facto border into Georgian-controlled villages.But observers say the march toward war on Moscow's side began months earlier.In fact, hostilities began escalating soon after NATO delayed granting Membership Action Plans -- a key phase before full membership -- to Georgia and Ukraine at its summit in early April.Less than two weeks later, Vladimir Putin, who was in the last month of his presidency, signed a decree authorizing direct relations with and assistance for Georgia's two pro-Moscow separatist provinces, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.Later in April, Russia deployed 1,500 additional troops, some of them heavily armed, to its "peacekeeping" contingent in Abkhazia without Georgia's consent -- an express violation of the 1994 cease-fire agreement.Russia also began shooting down Georgia's unmanned drone aircraft that were conducting reconnaissance over Abkhazia. Russian military aircraft also began regularly violating Georgian airspace near the separatist territory.In June, Russia deployed unarmed troops to Abkhazia to rebuild a rail link between Sukhumi and Ochamchira. At the time, Moscow presented the move as a humanitarian gesture to improve Abkhazia's transportation infrastructure. But U.S. and Georgian officials later pointed out that the railway was used to transport military equipment and munitions into Georgia during the conflict.Then, with everybody watching Abkhazia, the focus abruptly shifted to South Ossetia.In July, Russia's armed forces began massive military training exercises in the north Caucasus involving 8,000 servicemen and 700 pieces of military hardware. Russia's 58th Army, which would later spearhead the incursion into Georgia on August 8, was the key unit in those maneuvers.The 58th Army remained in the North Caucasus after the exercises. Shortly thereafter, Georgian and South Ossetian separatist forces began exchanging artillery, mortar, and sniper fire across the de facto border. Georgian officials accuse the separatists of instigating the exchanges, but South Ossetian authorities deny the allegation.Pifer said is appears that Russia laid a well-prepared trap for the Georgians, and Tbilisi took the bait."The Georgian leadership made a mistake on [August 7]. They should have understood from what they have seen from the Russians that the Russians were looking for a pretext. They [the Georgians] gave them that pretext when they decided to go in a fairly large way into South Ossetia," Pifer said. "The speed of the Russian response suggests that the Russians were ready, they were just waiting for the reason and they took that as the reason."9. New York Times analysis of the telephone transcripts:Georgia Offers Fresh Evidence on War’s StartNew York TimesDAN BILEFSKY, C..J. CHIVERS, THOM SHANKER and MICHAEL SCHWIRTZSeptember 16, 2008http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/world/europe/16georgia.html?partner=rssnyt&amp;emc=rssThis article was reported by Dan Bilefsky, C. J. Chivers, Thom Shanker and Michael Schwirtz and written by Mr. Chivers.TBILISI, Georgia — A new front has opened between Georgia and Russia, now over which side was the aggressor whose military activities early last month ignited the lopsided five-day war. At issue is new intelligence, inconclusive on its own, that nonetheless paints a more complicated picture of the critical last hours before war broke out.Georgia has released intercepted telephone calls purporting to show that part of a Russian armored regiment crossed into the separatist enclave of South Ossetia nearly a full day before Georgia’s attack on the capital, Tskhinvali, late on Aug. 7.Georgia is trying to counter accusations that the long-simmering standoff over South Ossetia, which borders Russia, tilted to war only after it attacked Tskhinvali. Georgia regards the enclave as its sovereign territory.The intercepts circulated last week among intelligence agencies in the United States and Europe, part of a Georgian government effort to persuade the West and opposition voices at home that Georgia was under invasion and attacked defensively. Georgia argues that as a tiny and vulnerable nation allied with the West, it deserves extensive military and political support.Georgia also provided audio files of the intercepts along with English translations to The New York Times, which made its own independent translation from the original Ossetian into Russian and then into English.Russia, already facing deep criticism and the coolest audience in European capitals since the cold war, is arguing vigorously against Georgia’s claims. Last week, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin expressed bafflement at what he saw as the West’s propensity to believe Georgia’s version of events.In an interview arranged by the Kremlin, the Russian military played down the significance of the intercepted conversations, saying troop movements to the enclave before the war erupted were part of the normal rotation and replenishment of longstanding peacekeeping forces there.But at a minimum, the intercepted calls, which senior American officials have reviewed and described as credible if not conclusive, suggest there were Russian military movements earlier than had previously been acknowledged, whether routine or hostile, into Georgian territory as tensions accelerated toward war.They also suggest the enduring limits — even with high-tech surveillance of critical battlefield locations — of penetrating the war’s thick fogs.The back and forth over who started the war is already an issue in the American presidential race, with Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, the Republican vice presidential candidate, contending that Russia’s incursion into Georgia was “unprovoked,” while others argue that Georgia’s shelling of Tskhinvali was provocation. Georgia claims that its main evidence — two of several calls secretly recorded by its intelligence service on Aug. 7 and 8 — shows that Russian tanks and fighting vehicles were already passing through the Roki Tunnel linking Russia to South Ossetia before dawn on Aug. 7.By Russian accounts, the war began at 11:30 that night, when President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia ordered an attack on Russian positions in Tskhinvali. Russian combat units crossed the border into South Ossetia only later, Russia has said.Russia has not disputed the veracity of the phone calls, which were apparently made by Ossetian border guards on a private Georgian cellphone network. “Listen, has the armor arrived or what?” a supervisor at the South Ossetian border guard headquarters asked a guard at the tunnel with the surname Gassiev, according to a call that Georgia and the cellphone provider said was intercepted at 3:52 a.m. on Aug. 7.“The armor and people,” the guard replied. Asked if they had gone through, he said, “Yes, 20 minutes ago; when I called you, they had already arrived.”Shota Utiashvili, the director of the intelligence analysis team at Georgia’s Interior Ministry, said the calls pointed to a Russian incursion. “This whole conflict has been overshadowed by the debate over who started this war,” he said. “These intercepted recordings show that Russia moved first and that we were defending ourselves.”The recordings, however, do not explicitly describe the quantity of armor or indicate that Russian forces were engaged in fighting at that time.Competing AccountsGen. Lt. Nikolai Uvarov of Russia, a former United Nations military attaché, who served as a Defense Ministry spokesman during the war, insisted that Georgia’s attack surprised Russia and that its leaders scrambled to respond while Russian peacekeeping forces were under fire. He said President Dmitri A. Medvedev had been on a cruise on the Volga River. Mr. Putin was at the Olympics in Beijing.“The minister of defense, by the way, was on vacation in the Black Sea somewhere,” he said. “We never expected them to launch an attack.”As for the claim that Russian forces entered the enclave early on Aug. 7, General Uvarov said military hardware regularly moved in and out of South Ossetia, supplying the Russian peacekeeping contingent there.“Since we had here a battalion, they need fuel, they need products; naturally you have movement of troops,” he said. “But not combat troops specifically sent there to fight.” He added, “If it were a big reinforcement, then we wouldn’t have lost about 15 peacekeepers inside.”Georgia disputed the Russian explanation, saying that under peacekeeping documents signed by both sides in 2004, rotations of the Russian peacekeeping battalion could be conducted only in daylight and after not less than a month of advance notification. There was no notification, Mr. Utiashvili said.Why, he asked, was the duty officer at the Roki Tunnel apparently caught off guard, if this was, as the Russians said, a routine deployment of peacekeepers?Georgian officials said they provided the materials last week to the United States and France, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, in addition to two reporters for The Times. The Times hired an independent Ossetian linguist in Russia to translate the recordings.Vano Merabishvili, Georgia’s minister of interior, said he was told of the intercepts by Georgian intelligence within hours of their being recorded. The information, he said, was relayed to Mr. Saakashvili, who saw them as a sign of a Russian invasion.Pressed as to why more than a month passed before the conversations came to light, Mr. Merabishvili said the file with the recordings was lost during the war when the surveillance team moved operations from Tbilisi, the capital, to the central city of Gori. Georgian intelligence officers later sifted through 6,000 files to retrieve copies, he said.The Times provided a range of American government and military officials with copies of the independent translations for comment. They cautioned that while the conversations appeared to be from genuine cellphone intercepts, no complete or official assessment could be made without access to the entire file of cellphone audio gathered by the Georgians. They said the question of provocation and response in the conflict remained under scrutiny in Washington.“We continue to look at that, both in terms of our intelligence assessment and then from what we get from on the ground,” said one senior American military officer who follows the situation in Georgia and agreed to discuss the matter on the condition of anonymity because it involved intelligence matters. “We have not been able to establish the ‘Who shot John?’ — the first shot.”Talk of Armor in TunnelGeorgia said its main evidence consisted of two conversations on Aug. 7 between Mr. Gassiev at the tunnel and his supervisor at the headquarters.In the first conversation, logged at 3.41 a.m., Mr. Gassiev told the supervisor that a Russian colonel had asked Ossetian guards to inspect military vehicles that “crowded” the tunnel. Mr. Gassiev said: “The commander, a colonel, approached and said, ‘The guys with you should check the vehicles.’ Is that O.K.?”Asked who the colonel was, Mr. Gassiev answered: “I don’t know. Their superior, the one in charge there. The B.M.P.’s and other vehicles were sent here and they’ve crowded there. The guys are also standing around. And he said that we should inspect the vehicles. I don’t know. And he went out.” A B.M.P. is a tracked armored vehicle that vaguely resembles a tank. It was one of the principal Russian military vehicles seen in the war, and in the peacekeeping contingent.At 3:52 a.m., Mr. Gassiev informed the supervisor that armored vehicles had left the tunnel, commanded by a colonel he called Kazachenko. The colonel’s first name was not mentioned. According to unrelated Russian press reports after the war, Col. Andrei Kazachenko served in the 135th Motorized Rifle Regiment. The regiment provided peacekeepers in South Ossetia and fought in Tskhinvali during the war, General Uvarov said. The general said he had no information about Colonel Kazachenko.Georgia’s claims about Russian movements appear to be at least partly supported by other information that emerged recently. Western intelligence determined independently that two battalions of the 135th Regiment moved through the tunnel to South Ossetia either on the night of Aug. 7 or the early morning of Aug. 8, according to a senior American official.New Western intelligence also emerged last week showing that a motorized rifle element was assigned to a garrison just outside South Ossetia, on Russian territory, with the aim of securing the north end of the tunnel, and that it may have moved to secure the entire tunnel either on the night of Aug. 7 or early in the morning of Aug. 8, according to several American officials who were briefed on the findings.On Sept. 3, Krasnaya Zvezda, the official newspaper of the Russian Defense Ministry, published an article in which a captain in the 135th Regiment, Denis Sidristy, said his unit had been ordered to cease a training exercise and move to Tskhinvali on Aug. 7.After a query by The Times about the article, the Russian newspaper published an article last Friday in which the captain said the correct date for the advance to Tskhinvali was Aug. 8. Efforts to reach Captain Sidristy were unsuccessful.A U.S. Official’s AccountMatthew J. Bryza, the deputy assistant secretary of state who coordinates diplomacy in the Caucasus, said the contents of the recorded conversations were consistent with what Georgians appeared to believe on Aug. 7, in the final hours before the war, when a brief cease-fire collapsed.“During the height of all of these developments, when I was on the phone with senior Georgian officials, they sure sounded completely convinced that Russian armored vehicles had entered the Roki Tunnel, and exited the Roki Tunnel, before and during the cease-fire,” he said. “I said, under instructions, that we urge you not to engage these Russians directly.”By the night of Aug. 7, he said, he spoke with Eka Tkeshelashvili, Georgia’s foreign minister, shortly before President Saakashvili issued his order to attack. “She sounded completely convinced, on a human level, of the Russian presence,” Mr. Bryza said. “ ‘Under these circumstances,’ she said, ‘We have to defend our villages.’ ”General Uvarov, the senior Russian official, contended that the Georgians had acted rashly and without a clear understanding of their own intelligence.According to the cease-fire agreement signed in the 1990s after the first war between Georgia and South Ossetia, Russia was allowed to maintain a 500-member peacekeeping force in the region, he said. And 300 reserve peacekeepers can be deployed in emergency situations, he said.As the Georgians began their attack, about 100 reserve peacekeepers from the 135th Regiment were put on alert and moved close to the tunnel, he said. They were ordered through the tunnel to reinforce forces in Tskhinvali around dawn on Aug. 8, he said.The first Russian combat unit — the First Battalion of the 135th Regiment — did not pass through the Roki Tunnel until 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, more than 14 hours after the Georgians began shelling Tskhinvali, he said.The battalion, he said, did not reach Tskhinvali until the next evening, having met heavy Georgian resistance. Georgia disputes that account, saying it was in heavy combat with Russian forces near the tunnel long before dawn. One thing was clear by then. The war had begun.Dan Bilefsky and C. J. Chivers reported from Tbilisi, Georgia; Thom Shanker from Washington; and Michael Schwirtz from Moscow.Annex: “know your enemy” leaflet distributed to soldiers participating in the exercises in the north Caucasus in July 2008<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ppYoJaoaCUc/SNc8ss6H35I/AAAAAAAAAE8/0k6osCmn6WE/s1600-h/tunnevaenlast.jpg"></a>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-65386235045891801302008-09-17T16:08:00.001+04:002008-09-17T16:16:37.272+04:00Georgia: EU Mission Needs to Protect Civilians<a href="http://hrw.org/">HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH</a><br /><br /><strong>In Security Vacuum, Frequent Attacks and Pervasive Fear</strong><br /><br />(Tbilisi, September 16, 2008) – The European Union observer mission scheduled to move into areas near South Ossetia must be given both a mandate and adequate resources to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch researchers in Georgia in recent days have documented numerous attacks by Ossetians against civilians in villages in this area, which is effectively under Russian control.<br />“The so-called ‘security zone’ is anything but safe – it is a no-man’s land, and people there desperately need protection,” said Giorgi Gogia, Human Rights Watch’s researcher on Georgia. “Monitoring is welcome, but what is urgently needed is a robust ESDP mission authorized to do policing to protect people from militia and other attacks and allow the displaced to return safely to their homes.” The Russian military has not been allowing Georgian police into many of the villages in Georgia’s Gori district, which borders South Ossetia. Nor has the Russian military been policing the villages itself. Under an agreement reached September 8, 2008, with the Russian and Georgian governments, the EU will send 200 civilian experts and police observers under the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) to Georgia. The observers, who will be unarmed, will have a mandate to monitor but not to protect civilians in the Gori area. Three weeks after Russian forces withdrew from most parts of Gori district, tens of thousands of Georgians remain displaced, both because security is deteriorating and because many homes have been destroyed by bombing or <a href="http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/08/27/georgi19704.htm">deliberately burned</a>. The security situation remains particularly unstable in areas close to the administrative border with South Ossetia. Displaced Gori district residents who spoke to Human Rights Watch uniformly said they feel unable to return to their homes to stay because they fear attacks by Ossetian militias and others seeking to exploit the utter lack of law enforcement in the area. “The EU says return of the displaced is a priority, but it hasn’t acknowledged the lawless situation and ongoing human rights abuses,” said Gogia. “Many who have fled are afraid to return, and those who do, face a real risk of violence. ESDP missions in other parts of the world have had policing and protection responsibilities, and there is no good reason why they can’t have them here.” Human Rights Watch researchers found that most people remaining in the villages of Gori district are elderly men and women who hope to protect their homes and property or who physically cannot leave. Some younger people from these villages venture from displaced person shelters in the town of Gori to their home villages for a few daylight hours. They look after their houses and harvest their crops, then return to the shelters. Villagers spending the night in villages either gather in one place to seek safety in numbers or hide in fields or woods near their homes. “Their fear of violence isn’t abstract,” said Gogia. “Attacks on civilians continue, and people have nowhere to turn for protection.” Human Rights Watch documented numerous attacks and threats against civilians by Ossetian militias and armed criminals in the last 10 days. For example, “Dato”, a 22-year-old villager from Abanoskoda, in the Kareli district on the administrative border with South Ossetia, described the killing of his 75-year-old grandmother on September 6. He told Human Rights Watch that on September 5 he was in the village to check on her and help with the harvest. “My father and I were harvesting crops in my grandmother’s field,” he said. “As I approached the house, two Ossetians in camouflage, armed with machine guns, stopped me and asked me who I was. One of them cocked his gun and demanded that I give him my cell phone, and I did so.” “The next evening, after going into the village, I returned to my grandmother’s house and found that my father was being held by four armed men in masks, wearing camouflage uniforms,” said “Dato. “They tried to take me and my father away. My grandmother was protesting and pulling on my father to keep him from being taken. One of them grabbed her to pull her away, and we all began to struggle. The assailants shot me twice in the right leg. They shot my father in the back, and he immediately fell down. I don’t know how my grandmother was shot, but when I was able to look at her I saw that she was dead.” “Dato” and his father survived. “Dato” remains in the hospital with a knee fracture. His father was treated for a wound to the abdomen. On September 6, a 40-year-old man, “Lado,” was driving in another Gori district village, Kvemo Artsevi, when he was stopped by two men in black ski masks and camouflage uniforms armed with machine guns and standing near a car along the side of the road. “Lado” told Human Rights Watch: “They spoke to me in broken Georgian with an Ossetian accent. One of them asked for my documents, took them, and then asked me to come with them to verify my identity. The other one started swearing at me. I was scared and so I sped away. They followed me in their car for about 2 kilometers and shot at me. The right rear window of the car was shot out. My wife and I left the village that day. I won’t go back until there are police to protect us. Those who are there made us leave.” Human Rights Watch also found new evidence of the torching of homes in South Ossetia. Multiple witnesses who recently fled Disevi, a village on the South Ossetian border, told Human Rights Watch that, as of September 13, the vast majority of houses in the village had been burned. Much of the village had been burned when Ossetian militias entered the village on August 11, but the remaining houses have been steadily targeted in recent days. One witness who arrived in Gori on September 15 stated that she saw 15 or16 houses being burned by militias in the period between September 12 and September 15. This witness told Human Rights Watch that although she had stayed in her house throughout the conflict and through the looting and burning by Ossetian militias immediately following the active fighting, the recent systematic burning had caused her to give up hope that her home would be spared. Disevi residents and residents of other villages also described a series of thefts and said they have heard frequent shooting in the past 10 days, they said they believe that the recent attacks and criminal activity have been carried out not only by Ossetian militia members, but also by civilian residents from neighboring villages taking advantage of the security vacuum. “Over the past weeks the EU has focused on the status of South Ossetia and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia proper,” said Gogia. “But it’s high time for the EU to pay equal attention to the rights and safety of the people in these areas. Ensuring that the EU’s ESDP mission can actually protect civilians and itself in the so-called buffer-zones would be a good start.”State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-82670457931220594732008-09-12T13:16:00.000+04:002008-09-12T13:48:51.100+04:00Human Rights Watch says few civilians killed in South Ossetian warSeptember 11, 2008<br /><em>By MANSUR MIROVALEV,</em><br /><strong>Associated Press Writer</strong><br /><br />Fewer than 100 civilians died in Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia during last month's war, human rights activists said Thursday a far smaller number than Russian and South Ossetian officials have claimed.<br />Tatiana Lokshina, a Russian researcher for the U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch who visited the region, said trips to a hospital, a cemetery and conversations with residents failed to corroborate claims by Russia and its South Ossetian allies that about 1,500 civilians were killed in the region.<br />"I don't understand where the number of 1,500 comes from," Lokshina told reporters.<br />"Thank God, civilian deaths are not measured in thousands," she said, adding that the number of civilians who died appeared to be "fewer than 100."<br />Lokshina said it was impossible to determine the precise number of casualties at this point.<br />She said the 1,500 civilian deaths presented by South Ossetian's separatist authorities appeared to have included local militants as well as some wounded civilians who might have been taken by retreating Georgian troops to Georgia proper for treatment.<br />Alexander Cherkasov of Russia's leading rights group, Memorial, who also visited the region, said history has proven that the number of dead civilians could not be higher than the number of civilians wounded. He said 273 civilians were officially registered as wounded in the main hospital in South Ossetia, which treated victims of the conflict.<br />Georgian authorities said 169 Georgian military and police and 69 civilians had been killed in the war. The Russian military said 74 Russian servicemen died in fighting.<br />Russian and South Ossetian authorities have accused Georgia of masterminding a genocide of South Ossetians during the conflict, which started Aug. 7 when Georgian government forces launched an offensive to regain control over South Ossetia.<br />Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed deep into Georgia.<br />Lokshina said researchers have not found evidence of atrocities, torture and rapes committed by Georgian troops contrary to widely publicized Russian and South Ossetian accusations.<br />But she said her trips to the region did reveal evidence of Georgian tanks deliberately firing at basements of apartment buildings where civilians were hiding.<br />There was no immediate response from the Georgian government. Russian prosecutors have launched a probe into civilian deaths and refrained from comment until it their investigation is complete.<br />Cherkasov said Georgian civilians have been imprisoned, beaten up, mistreated and used as forced labor by South Ossetians.<br />Lokshina and Cherkasov also said South Ossetian militants continue looting and destroying ethnic Georgian villages. They urged Russian authorities to reinstall checkpoints at Georgian villages and to keep searching for remaining civilians, especially the elderly.<br />Cherkasov said Georgian authorities told ethnic Georgians to leave their houses days before the shelling started as part of a "planned evacuation."<br />"This means they are not refugees, but evacuated persons," he said.<br />The United Nations said more than 100,000 people have been uprooted by the conflict.<br />While Russian soldiers have begun preparations to pull out of some of their positions outside South Ossetia and Abkhazia in line with a deal clinched by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Georgian Security Council chief Alexander Lomaia said Thursday evening they had not withdrawn from any of 24 posts they still manned in Georgia.<br />Lomaia said even a position the Russians had appeared to be abandoning near Abkhazia on Tuesday was still manned.<br />Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that Russia would withdraw from five positions in western Georgia within a week.<br />Permanent link: <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/11/europe/EU-Russia-Georgia-Death-Toll.php">http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/11/europe/EU-Russia-Georgia-Death-Toll.php</a>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-24967591967566970552008-09-12T13:11:00.001+04:002008-09-12T13:14:31.239+04:00COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE234 Ford House Office Building<br />Washington, D.C. 20515-6460 Media Contact: Lale Mamaux<br />Hon. Alcee L. Hastings, Chairman<br />Hon. Benjamin L. Cardin, Co-Chairman<br /><br /><em>September 10, 2008</em><br /><em><strong>For Immediate Release</strong></em><br /><br />(Washington, D.C.) Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Co-Chairman Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), held a hearing on Russia’s armed intervention into the Republic of Georgia. The hearing entitled, “Russia, Georgia, and the Return of Power Politics,” examined the implications for U.S-Russian relations and the European security infrastructure.<br />Chairman Hastings commented during the hearing, “We today inhabit a world much changed since August 7. Until now, Russia has been seen as a status quo power. With its actions in Georgia, which aim not merely to protect its client breakaway regions but to disarm Georgia, damage its economy and, if possible, effect regime change, Russia has become a revisionist state. The post-Cold War settlement is in question and may be definitively over.”<br />Co-Chairman Cardin noted, “Since 2000, the Russian state has relentlessly whittled away Georgian society’s freedom of expression and ability to maneuver politically. We now see aggressiveness abroad accompanying repression at home. It also is a real possibility that Moscow’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will stimulate other non-Russian peoples inside the Federation to campaign for independence, causing Moscow to possibly resort to a harder line. This could further erode chances for Russia’s democratization, in which we all have a powerful stake.”<br />Expert testimony was received from Mr. Matthew J. Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Department of State; The Honorable David Bakradze, Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and Former Foreign Minister; Mr. Paul Saunders, Executive Director, the Nixon Center; and Mr. Paul A. Goble, Director of research and publications at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy in Baku and a former USG official. Copies of all the statements and an unofficial transcript will be posted on the Commission’s website (www.csce.gov).<br />On September 9, Chairman Hastings introduced the “Republic of Georgia Enhanced Trade Assistance, Economic Recovery, and Reconstruction Act of 2008,” (H.R. 6851), which authorizes an expansion of trade, business and economic opportunities and assistance for reconstruction efforts and economic recovery. The legislation was introduced in response to the August 2008 war between Georgia and the Russian Federation, in which Russia destroyed critical infrastructure, disrupted domestic and regional commerce and devastated homes in villages and towns, causing the internal displacement of tens of thousands of people.<br />Chairman Hastings’ opening statement:<br />“In Russia’s August 2008 invasion of Georgia, we have witnessed a war between two OSCE states – the very contingency the Helsinki Process was designed to prevent, by basing relations among states on principles that preclude the use of force to resolve disputes.<br />“The human cost of this war has been terrible. Hundreds of people on both sides were killed. I extend my condolences to families of all the victims.<br />“For Georgia, this war has been a disaster. The country already had hundreds of thousands of displaced people from conflicts in the early 1990s. Now there are scores of thousands more to care for – not to mention the consequences of military defeat, Russia’s destruction of Georgian military and economic infrastructure and the stationing of troops around so-called security zones and strategic points, like the port of Poti. Most ominously, Russia’s victory on the battlefield has allowed it to dismember Georgia.<br />“In looking at the origins of this conflict, it seems to me that Russia’s leaders set an ingenious trap into which Georgia’s President Mikheil Saakashvili fell. But however you assign responsibility, it is clear from Russian actions that Moscow turned what it characterized as a “protective operation” into a punitive war against a small country that appeared to be integrating itself into Western institutions and hoped to join NATO.<br />“The implications extend far beyond Georgia or the Caucasus. On August 26th, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. With this fateful step Moscow rejected Georgia’s territorial integrity, which Russia had hitherto acknowledged, thereby threatening to upend the entire international system.<br />“Russia’s actions have won hurrahs from the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah but very few credible international actors. Obviously, the United States and European Union refused to follow Moscow’s lead. But more telling has been Moscow’s failure to round up support even among its neighbors and ostensible allies. Their nuanced statements and especially support for the principle of territorial integrity are sober testament to the danger they feel personally – and their grim understanding that the ground under their feet has shifted.<br />“Indeed, we today inhabit a world much changed since August 1. Until now, Russia has been seen as a status quo power. With its actions in Georgia, which aim not merely to protect its client breakaway regions but to disarm Georgia, damage its economy and, if possible, effect regime change, Russia has become a revisionist state. The post-Cold War settlement is in question and may be definitively over.<br />“To drive the point home, last week President Medvedev declared that Russia will defend its citizens abroad and claimed regions of privileged interests in neighboring states with which Moscow has historically had special relations. In effect, ladies and gentlemen, the Kremlin is openly proclaiming its right to spheres of influence on the territory of former Soviet Republics – and who knows where else? I am struck by the brazen bellicosity of this policy: Russia thinks it has the right to exert influence over its neighbors not by the attraction of ideas, the lure of capital or the power of positive example but the domination of sheer force.<br />“This is the law of the jungle, not the rule of law. It goes without saying that the United States rejects this flagrant power grab. We will not recognize Russia’s dismemberment of Georgia or its trampling on the fundamental proposition that States must retain the right to freely choose their own alliances.<br />The Bush Administration has already announced plans to provide $1 billion in emergency assistance to Georgia. Along with my fellow lawmakers, I will work to speed the passage of legislation to supplement this assistance.”<br />Co-Chairman Cardin’s opening statement:<br />“If much remains unclear about the Russo-Georgian war of 2008, we can already conclude that it marks a major concern in East-West relations and relations between Russia and her neighbors.<br />“Most of the world has rightly condemned Moscow’s policies. But they appear to have brought political dividends at home, where Russia’s military victory has been greeted by public approval, accentuated by outbursts of xenophobic bluster. This speaks volumes about the effectiveness of state control of the media, which the Kremlin has inexorably implemented since 2000.<br />“In that connection, let me note one implication of this war which has received too little attention. Since 2000, the Russian state has relentlessly whittled away Georgian society’s freedom of expression and ability to maneuver politically. We now see aggressiveness abroad accompanying repression at home. It also is a real possibility that Moscow’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia will stimulate other non-Russian peoples inside the Federation to campaign for independence, causing Moscow to possibly resort to a harder line. This could further erode chances for Russia’s democratization, in which we all have a powerful stake.<br />“President Medvedev says Moscow is not afraid of anything, including a new Cold War. I sincerely hope that is not where we are heading. But the next U.S. president, whoever he is, will certainly face a much more truculent Russia than his two predecessors.<br />“This hearing offers us the opportunity to look at ways that we can constructively engage Russia making it clear that its military actions cannot be condoned.”<br />The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency that monitors progress in the implementation of the provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce.<br />Permanent link: <a href="http://csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContentRecords.ViewDetail&amp;ContentRecord_id=712">http://csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContentRecords.ViewDetail&amp;ContentRecord_id=712</a>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-20231042421068336212008-09-12T13:01:00.000+04:002008-09-12T13:03:50.526+04:00Реинкарнация агрессора<em>Елена Трегубова</em><br /><br /><strong>Вооруженный конфликт на Кавказе - Комментарии</strong><br /><br />Запад, кажется, всё еще недопонял масштабов катастрофы, перед которой оказался мир. На кону стоит уже не только Грузия.<br />Напав на Грузию, Кремль по сути открыто заявил о себе, как о новом мировом агрессоре, владеющим ядерным оружием, и при этом еще и богатейшими топливными запасами – агрессоре, которому ни одна из стран мира не может и не смеет ничего противопоставить. Самым ярким доказательством этого стало заявление зам.начальника российского генштаба Анатолия Ноговицына, который по сути пригрозил уничтожить Польшу ядерным ударом в случае подписания Варшавой договора с США по ПРО. Вариантов два: либо господин Ноговицын психически неадекватен (потому что не может же здоровый человек, да еще и прописанный в XXI веке, грозить ядерной бомбой не воюющему против него государству, которому еще вчера Россия клялась в добрососедстве и отсутствии агрессивных намерений) – либо на самом деле все последние годы реальная, но скрытая, позиция Кремля, генштаба и российских спецслужб и была ровно такой, но просто пряталась до удобного момента под цивилизованной маской.<br />А уж когда президент Медведев вслед за ним провозгласил, что «военные правы относительно ПРО в Польше», сомнений относительно того, что Ноговицын выступил от имени всей властной группировки, остаться уже не могло. Если конечно не предположить, что у них там, в центре Москвы, с бешеной скоростью распространяется некое опасное вирусное психическое заболевание, поражающее отдельных тружеников органов власти. И несмотря на то, что днем позже дипломаты спохватились, и начали слегка смягчать позицию, очевидно, что Ноговицын подхватил тот же самый вирусный штамм, который еще до всякой грузинской войны заставлял высокопоставленных российских военных угрожать Западу, как в советское время, разместить на Кубе ракеты, направленные против Штатов. А еще примерно за год до этого – та же бацилла заставила Путина публично угрожать направить русские ракеты на цели в Европе. А до этого – назвать распад СССР «величайшей трагедией ХХ века». То есть для Путина трагедия – не ГУЛаг, не уничтожение миллионов невинных людей в России и сопредельных странах, не исковерканные судьбы соседних народов, превращенных в рабов – а факт прекращения этого надругательства. Это – позиция, а не оговорка. И именно эту позицию Путин, по-прежнему остающейся главной властной фигурой в России, сегодня последовательно претворяет в жизнь – по всем фронтам.<br />Судя по микширующему тону, которым канцлер Ангела Меркель разговаривала в Сочи с Медведевым (как будто он – не верховный главнокомандующий, только что напавший на своего соседа и развязавший войну), вирус не обходит стороной даже и зарубежных высоких гостей, въезжающих на территорию России. Чтобы нежно назвать войну, отправку танков и бомбардировки чужой территории «непропорциональной реакцией» - это надо неимоверно вывернуться, и притвориться слепой и глухой.<br />Ощущение абсолютного сюра. Хочется спросить у европейских лидеров: «Вам теперь впрямую грозят ядерной бомбой – а вы все твердите об “оптимизме” и “долгосрочном партнерстве”?! Что вам еще надо для того, чтобы очнуться от гипноза?»<br />Стоит напомнить, что именно и персонально Германия и Франция из-за своей соглашательской позиции несут основную ответственность за то, что Кремль посмел демонстративно надругаться над международным правом и напасть на Грузию. Судьба Грузии была решена не 8 августа, а 3 апреля, на саммите НАТО в Бухаресте, когда лидеры Германии и Франции, прельстившись путинским обещаниям льготных цен на газ, взамен заблокировали вступление Грузии и Украины в подготовительный клуб НАТО.<br />Если бы решение взять Грузию под защиту состоялось уже тогда – то, без сомнения, не было бы ни последующих месяцев регулярных провокаций против Грузии со стороны контролируемых российскими спецслужбами сепаратистов, ни полетов российских военных самолетов над Грузией, ни «случайно» оброненных на Грузию российских ракет (напомню: тогда Кремль еще вдохновенно играл в несознанку: все это – инсинуации грузин, а русские – да ну что вы?! - никогда чужих границ не нарушают), ни целенаправленных профессиональных тренировок абхазских боевиков специалистами ГРУ для ведения военных действий на мятежных территориях.<br />Кремлевский блицкриг против Грузии не был ни спонтанным, ни неврастеничным: это был продуманный, и давно вынашивавшийся Путиным план, абсолютно органично соответствующий как его идеологии, так и нутряным позывам его единомышленников-силовиков. Могу поспорить, что, даже уезжая в Пекин, Путин уже прекрасно знал по разведданным о передислокациях грузин и заранее отдал приказ о начале войны. Кремль все последние месяцы только и выжидал удобного момента и наращивал провокации в Грузии, чтобы этот удобный момент подтолкнуть.<br />Так что теперь, оттяпав у Грузии куски территории для своих марионеточных режимов, Кремль таким образом публично наказал даже не Михаила Саакашвили (который хотя бы как мог сопротивлялся), а мировых лидеров – которые в течение первых пяти дней после начала агрессии вообще делали вид, что ничего уж такого страшного не произошло, а только «выражали обеспокоенность». И которые до этого сажали Путина и Медведева с собой за стол, как приличных, заглядывали им в глаза, и видели там какие-то обнадеживающие буквы и знаки («К, Г и Б», как передразнил Буша Маккейн), и выступали мировыми гарантами того, что этим кремлевским парням можно доверять.<br />Теперь маски упали: «гарант Конституции» Медведев, даже не поняв, в чем он признается, трогательно сообщил журналистам: «Та трагедия, которая случилась, приковала нас всех к телеэкранам, к интернету. И я тоже, как обычный человек, получал часть информации оттуда».<br />А реальный глава страны – Путин, не стесняясь, грозит Бушу отправкой наемников (простите, «добровольцев») в Грузию.<br />Путин все последние годы крайне успешно действовал по отношению к западным лидерам в жанре классического искусителя – сначала соблазнил их всех по одному (кого газом, кого нефтью, кого постом в Газпроме с многомиллионной зарплатой, а кого обещанием не участвовать в иракской войне на стороне противника), потом заставил их ради топливных бонусов наплевать на чужую кровь и уничтожение прав человека внутри России – а теперь уже и самих западных лидеров втоптал в грязь, вместе со всеми их амбициями «защитников международной законности» и «действенности западной демократии».<br />Так что теперь, когда Вашингтон объявляет о таком, например, страшном, на взгляд американцев, наказании для Кремля, как отказ в праве участвовать в совместных военных учениях, невольно жалеешь, что Джордж Буш не знает русского языка и не поймет лапидарного диагноза: напугали ежа голым мягким местом.<br />На Западе всё никак не поймут одной простой вещи: кремлевской группировке не надо, чтобы их уважали – им хочется, чтобы их боялись, и чтобы им платили деньги. Все. Точка. И поэтому любые попытки решить конфликт «цивилизованно» и уж тем более «компромиссно» – а не на языке жестких ультиматумов – сегодняшнее российское руководство воспринимает как «слабость врага».<br />Единственное уязвимое место этого нового монстра, которого Запад собственными руками вскормил за последние восемь лет своей политикой непротивления злу (а положа руку на сердце – просто прямой коррумпированностью европейских лидеров, подсевших на российскую нефтяную и газовую иглу) – то, что монстр этот страшно жаден до денег.<br />Понятие «быть цивилизованным» путинская группировка понимает, как иметь дом в Лондоне, яхты и виллы на итальянской и французской Ривьере, ну и как крайний изыск – дорогие безвкусные картины. А отнюдь не как «не убивать и не хапать чужое». Даже если очень хочется. И уж тем более не как «вытащить из нищеты страну», которую они давно уже воспринимают как собственную топливную колонию.<br />Сегодня единственным языком, который бы в Кремле поняли и остановили агрессию, могло бы стать добровольное эмбарго всех западных стран на закупки российской нефти и газа. А также запрет на въезд российских властных чиновников и ведущих «бизнесменов от власти» в европейские государства (где у большинства из них – счета и имущество, заработанное на национальных богатствах страны).<br />Отказ от закупок российского топлива не стал бы ни для кого из европейцев национальной катастрофой (в Германии российский газ составляет около 30 % газового импорта, во Франции около 20 %). Это просто вопрос политической воли и диверсификации топливных поставок, поиска других источников.<br />Но, судя по поведению канцлера Германии на переговорах с Медведевым – с газовой иглы слезать очень не хочется. Даже несмотря на то, что поставщик откровенно заявил о себе как о международном агрессоре. Западные европейцы, кажется, так до сих пор и не поняли, что эта игра в потакание агрессору рано или поздно станет смертельно опасной и для них самих, а не только для их восточных соседей.<br />Если категоричный, действенный и коллективный отпор военной машине, запущенной Кремлем, не будет дан прямо сейчас, то следующим шагом, который органично вписывается в логику сегодняшних кремлевских руководителей, наверняка станет еще более открытый союз с режимами-изгоями и реальный шантаж Запада с помощью Ирана.<br />Что же касается локального сценария развития событий в Грузии, то можно не сомневаться: в ближайшее же время Кремль попытается убрать Саакашвили. Не зря ведь в желтой газете «Твой день», имеющей в Москве репутацию кремлевского сливного бачка, сразу же после начала вторжения в Грузию была опубликована дезинформация о том, что Саакашвили, якобы, пытался покончить с собой, проиграв войну, а также прозрачный намек на то, что грузинский лидер, возможно, повторит попытки суицида и в дальнейшем. Одного ведь грузинского президента (Гамсахурдиа) уже так убрали, отрапортовав о самоубийстве. Раз уж вернулись к прежним методам – ничто не помешает применять их по полной программе.<br />После вторжения в Грузию ничего морально недопустимого для Кремля уже нет. И совершенно очевидно, что Грузия – это только первый полигон, на котором реинкарнировавшийся агрессор опробовал свои силы.<br />Довольно символично, что история российской демократии, начавшаяся чуть меньше 20 лет назад с оплакивания простыми москвичами убитых российскими саперными лопатками мирных демонстрантов, вышедших в центр Тбилиси требовать независимости Грузии от СССР, закольцевалась в ту же самую точку, и окончательно похоронена теперь введением российских войск в Грузию.<br />http://www.svobodanews.ru/Article/2008/08/18/20080818171921960.htmlState Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-26867176956708832402008-09-10T17:41:00.000+04:002008-09-10T17:43:17.084+04:00Russia continues to violate ceasefire agreement resulting in deathAt 10:15am this morning, shots were fired from a nearby Russian post at a Georgian police post near the entrance to the village of Karaleti in the Gori district. As a result, a Georgian policeman, Kakha Tsotniashvili, was badly wounded in the head and throat. He died shortly afterwards in hospital. The Georgian side did not return fire.<br /><br />This incident provides yet another proof that the Russian side continues to grossly violate the six-point ceasefire document. The Russian Federation’s armed forces not only do not comply with the political commitments undertaken by their President before the European Union and Georgia but go as far as to completely disregard them thus causing the death of innocent people.<br /><br />The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia calls on the international community, European Union and OSCE in particular, to give due assessment to the killing of the Georgian policeman and employ all levers at their disposal to investigate this crime and bring perpetrators to justice.<br /><em>Posted by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia at </em><a class="timestamp-link" title="permanent link" href="http://georgiamfa.blogspot.com/2008/09/russia-continues-to-violate-ceasefire.html" rel="bookmark"><em>3:25 PM</em></a>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-51458062006887143662008-09-10T17:38:00.000+04:002008-09-10T17:40:12.517+04:00Statement by the Ministry of Defence of GeorgiaWednesday, September 10, 2008<br /><br />On September 6 the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published an article by Nikolas Busse titled “Soviet war of movement in Georgia” (Sowjetischer Bewegungskrieg in Georgien).The article claims that representatives of the Georgian General Staff have briefed NATO headquarters in Brussels about the war, and says: “The representatives of the Georgian Forces have reported to the allies that they were against a military attack on South Ossetia.” It adds: “diplomats at NATO say that the statements of the General Staff could be an attempt to wash itself clean and put the blame about the lost war to Saakashvili”.The Ministry of Defence of Georgia hereby states that no representative of the Georgian General Staff have ever given NATO such a briefing. The General Staff of Georgia is under the civilian control of the democratically elected Government of Georgia, an arrangement whose effectiveness has been praised by numerous NATO assessment teams commenting on the success of the democratic reforms of Georgia’s military forces.The position of the Georgian Government on the events leading to the War and explanations why and when decisions by the Government were taken can be found in the Government document Timeline of Russian Aggression in Georgia. This document has been distributed to all NATO capitals and to NATO headquarters days before the FAZ article was published. It is self-evident that this is also the position of the Georgian Ministry of Defence and its General Staff.We are not aware of any briefings given by anyone formally connected with the Armed Forces of Georgia. Therefore, we hereby request that the NATO press office publicly respond to the false claims disseminated by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-20032190100337782622008-09-10T17:31:00.000+04:002008-09-10T17:33:18.271+04:00Маленькие фюреры большой страны<strong>Автор:</strong> <em><strong>Андрей Гусаров</strong>, писатель и кинорежиссёр, Санкт-Петербург</em><br /><br />Их цирк со звучным и нелепым названием Советский Союз давно уехал. Умчался экспрессом туда, откуда не возвращаются. А клоуны остались.<br />Племя лилипутов, чьи беленькие обнажённые торсы с большими головками, бешено вращающимися глазами и зычными, начальственными голосами, взобралось на Российский престол и руководит своим последним парадом. Они популярны на русском телевидении, на Западе их речи тоже показывают охотно. Они наперебой вещают о своих шутовских победах, проливая настоящую кровь вместо клюквенного сока. За последний их бой пьют ведрами вино такие же, как и они сами, только помельче и попузатей. Всех их нельзя назвать даже условно умными, ибо всех их, в их дрезденских резидентурах и юридических факультетах, учили одному: врать, веровать и убивать. Их учителя долго и нудно заставляли заучивать правила хорошего агрессора, рассказывать наизусть у доски об оккупации Гитлером Австрии, Чехословакии и Польши. Чертить на контурных картах стрелками танковые удары по Праге 1968 года и Варшаве 1981. И они учили, мечтая о том светлом дне, когда их мелкие, мало кому интересные личности, будут склоняться над глобусом, чертя дрожащим пальцем с грязным ногтём направление «главного удара». Ненавидя и боясь свободного мира, они нанесли первый удар по свободной Грузии, чьи государственные границы стали в одночасье для всех нас границами борьбы добра со злом.<br />Сороковой президент США Рональда Рейган 8 июня 1982 года сказал: «… что решительное руководство, время и надежда делают своё дело, что силы добра, объединившись, в конечном счете, торжествуют над злом».<br />И я верю в это, верю, что грузинский народ решит все проблемы, которые принесла ему на своих штыках русская армия, Грузия выстоит и победит, не дав повториться этой бесконечной мюнхенской истории о праве сильно вершить судьбы стран и народов. На Грузию смотрит весь мир, с надеждой и восхищением.<br />А они пусть врут. В истории уже был фюрер, которого сильно заботили соседние свободные страны. Гитлер, как и Путин (Президент Медведева исполняет роль ретранслятора) говорил: «Некоторые иностранные газеты заявляют, что мы коварно напали на Австрию (Грузию). На это я могу сказать одно: даже умирая, они не перестанут лгать. За время своей политической борьбы я завоевал любовь своего народа. Но когда я пересек бывшую границу (с Австрией (Грузией)), я был встречен с такой любовью, какой раньше нигде не встречал. Мы пришли не как тираны, а как освободители...». Эти слова произносил главный военный преступник 20 века семьдесят лет назад, и эти же слова сказаны Путиным (Медведевым) недавно. Между фашизмом Гитлера и режимом Путина не просто много схожего. Это одна и та же политическая система. Аграрные страны болеют коммунизмом, а индустриальные фашизмом. И Россия в этой печальной ситуации не исключение. Пигмеи правят большой страной. Путинская правящая верхушка (Медведев главный по бумажкам), одуревшая от газа и нефти решила, что ей можно всё. Шуты и скоморохи, ряженые в дорогие костюмы, взялись исправлять «главную геополитическую катастрофу XX века», забыв, что мы живём в двадцать первом.<br />Будем терпеливы. Мы все станем свидетелями того, как их шутовское государство развалится, а его обломки похоронят эту цирковую труппу. Последний шанс сохраниться России, как единому государству был упущен 08.08.08 года, с первыми русскими танками и БТРами, чей бравый поход под трёхцветным флагом на мирные грузинские города и сёла стал началом похоронной процессии государства российского.<br />Это будут длинные похороны. Сейчас циркачи улыбаются, радуясь своей сноровке. Не знают они того, что похороны начались. Катафалк, грохнув ракетой Искандер по спящему жилому дому, тронулся в последний путь по дороге всемирной истории. Будем терпеливы и великодушны. Положим ещё веночек на их могилку.<br />Сейчас для всех нас настал важный момент, пришел час понять, кто враг, а кто друг. Историческая миссия грузинского народа - сохранить свободу и мир, и сберечь собственное государство не только для себя и своих детей, но и для многих и многих русских, которые в лживой атмосфере кремлевской пропаганды верят в правду и свободу.<br />С Грузией воют русская армия, российское государство. Но нужно помнить, что за этими безликими институтами стоят конкретные люди, чьи имена весь мир будет помнить до начала международного военного трибунала: Путин, Медведев, Миронов, Наговицын…<br />Простой американский солдат, убитый в бою в 1917 году, написал однажды в своём дневнике небольшой текст под заголовком «Моя клятва».<br />«Америка должна выиграть эту войну. Поэтому я буду работать и экономить, я пожертвую всем и вынесу все лишения, я с радостью пойду на войну и буду сражаться так, как будто исход всей войны зависит от меня одного».<br />Сейчас, в дни российской агрессии, каждый свободолюбивый человек на земле, в Грузии и России, США и Германии, Японии и Австралии, подпишется под этими словами.<br /><a href="http://abkhazeti.info/news/1220040165.php">http://abkhazeti.info/news/1220040165.php</a>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-1557915451529725782008-09-08T13:10:00.001+04:002008-09-08T13:15:38.579+04:00GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE: Two Jets Enter Georgian Airspace, Poti Checkpoints Reinforced<strong>GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA</strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>PRESS RELEASE</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br />Tbilisi, 7 September 2008 - from about 11:20 AM this morning, two jets illegally entered Georgian airspace from the Russian Federation and proceeded to circle over Tskhinvali and Shatili for a period of about 45 minutes, presumably on a reconnaissance mission. The precise aircraft type could not be confirmed.<br />Meanwhile, the Russian occupation forces are reinforcing, rather than vacating, its checkpoints near the strategic commercial port of Poti, which was visited by the USS Mount Whitney, the command ship of the US Navy's 6th Fleet, yesterday. The Nabada checkpoint was today expanded by 5 armoured presonnel carriers (APC) and about 50 troops. The Patara Poti checkpoint was reinforced by one APC, another vehicle and about 10 troops.<br />These troop movements come a day before Presidents Sarkozy and Barroso and High Representative Javier Solana are scheduled to visit Moscow and Tbilisi to ascertain the implementation of the 6-point ceasefire agreement. According to that agreement, Russian forces ought to have left Georgian core territory weeks ago already. The repeated violation of Georgian airspace and the expansion of Russia's checkpoint system far from the conflict zone suggests that the Russian Federation has no intention to honour its commitments.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-42845014142630822712008-09-05T18:28:00.001+04:002008-09-05T18:31:46.755+04:00FURTHER RUSSIAN MILITARY ACTION IS POSSIBLE<strong>Eurasia Daily Monitor</strong>,<br />The Jamestown Foundation - September 4, 2008, Volume 5, Issue 169<br /><br /><strong><em>Pavel Felgenhauer</em></strong><br /><br />After the EU summit on September 1 in Brussels, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a press conference, "All of Europe is united" against Moscow's behavior in Georgia. "We can't go back to the age of spheres of influence; Yalta is behind us," stated Sarkozy, referring to the post-World War II conference that divided the world and created new borders throughout Europe (AFP, September 1). Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in turn claimed victory, after the EU stepped back from imposing sanctions over Russia's partial occupation of Georgia.<br />Medvedev in a TV interview acknowledged that not all EU member nations understood Russia's "good intentions" in Georgia, but "the majority want a constructive relationship and do not want to spoil relations." Medvedev accused the United States of arming Georgia and inspiring it to attack South Ossetia. He claimed that the G8 group of industrial democracies would be "dysfunctional without Russia, so we are not afraid someone might exclude us." Medvedev stated that Russia was ready to discuss the normalization of the situation, but not with "the present bankrupt Georgian regime," adding "President Mikheil Saakashvili for us does not exist--he is a political corpse" (www.kremlin.ru, September 2).<br />Speaking in Uzbekistan, Putin praised EU leaders for trying to find common ground with Russia. Putin singled out Sarkozy’s use at the press conference of the expression "the Saakashvili regime," saying that in his opinion this demonstrated a convergence of views between Moscow and Paris about the present Georgian government being undemocratic and "a regime of personal power" (www.government.ru, September 2). Apparently, Putin wanted very much to hear what was not, in fact, said and was misled by the translation. In Russian "regime" has a strong negative meaning (for instance, fascist regime), while in French it is rather neutral (www.newsru.com, September 2).<br />This week Medvedev revealed his new personal Russian foreign policy doctrine in an interview to Russian national TV channels. It states, "The world must be multi-polar," while U.S. domination "is unacceptable." Russia will defend its citizens abroad and claims to have "regions of privileged interests"--its close neighboring states, "with which we have historically special relations" (www.kremlin.ru, August 31).<br />It is clear the Kremlin is openly claiming as its "privileged" sphere of influence the territory of the former Soviet Republics that became independent in 1991 and have sizable minorities of Russian passport-holders. The invasion of Georgia is apparently the first move to enforce this sphere to keep the West and NATO out.<br />Putin announced, "There are no Russian troops left in Georgia, only peacekeepers." He claimed that "There are no Russian troops in the Georgian port city of Poti, only peacekeepers nearby." He insisted that "Russian peacekeepers" would stay in the "security zones" in Georgia and, moreover, that Russia retained the right to impose "additional security measures" that it has not yet used. Putin blasted the United States for sending humanitarian aid to the port city of Batumi in southern Georgia on the Turkish border using armed naval ships. "We will surely answer,” he said, “but in a way you will know later" (www.government.ru, September 2).<br />The United States has repeatedly denied that it is sending Georgia military supplies under the guise of humanitarian aid, but the Russian Defense Ministry has declared that the U.S. military is shipping thousands of tons of supplies "including military ones" by sea to Batumi and by air to Tbilisi. Emboldened by this support, Georgia is massing troops and preparing "terrorist-guerrilla" attacks in Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Interfax, September 2). Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for an arms embargo on Georgia "while the Saakashvili regime exists" (Interfax, September 1).<br />It is possible that Moscow is ready to begin to enforce such an embargo, by invoking the "additional security measures" as part of Putin’s mysterious answer. Russian warships and tanks may be moved to Batumi and other forces to the capital of Tbilisi under the pretext of checking U.S. aid shipments. Such a move would effectively choke off Georgia's connections with the outside world.<br />By invading Batumi, the capital of the autonomous Ajara Republic, Russia may hope to encourage a local separatist movement to break up Georgia further. Aslan Abashidze, the warlord who ruled Ajara from 1992 to 2004, is at present in exile in Moscow. By taking over Tbilisi International Airport and causing a panic in the capital, Moscow may hope finally to topple the "Saakashvili regime" and at the same time embarrass the hated Americans.<br />Winter bad weather and snow in the mountains are coming soon. The Russian military has only until the end of October to finish off the job in Georgia this year. The EU summit may be seen as a green light to go ahead, while the West is ready to use only hot words that are watered down anyway by "our friends in Europe"--Italy, France, and Germany, which Putin specifically praised for their "understanding" (www.government.ru, September 2).State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-74338193418824533772008-09-04T16:22:00.002+04:002008-09-04T17:22:17.553+04:00Ах, война, что ты сделала, подлая<strong><em>Валерия Новодворская</em></strong><br /><strong>Грани.ру</strong><br />3 сентября 2008 г. 12:39<br /><br /><a href="http://ru.delfi.lt/opinions/comments/article.php?id=18408921&amp;pictureID=2288486"></a>Не окуджавский у нас сюжет. Он-то участвовал в войне, которая имела некие оправдания. Хоть и за Сталина, но против Гитлера. Против самоопределения народов СССР, но хотя бы за территориальную целостность России и ее колоний – от Белоруссии до Таджикистана. Имея в перспективе "дело врачей" и борьбу с "безродными космополитами", но избавляя тех же евреев от газовых камер, Бабьих Яров и крематориев. Оккупируя Восточную Европу, Балтию, Украину своими красными тоталитарными полчищами, но изгоняя эсэсовцев в черных мундирах.Для России плюсов было столько же, сколько минусов; для стран Балтии, Кавказа, Украины, Чехии и Венгрии минусы в победе Сталина даже превалировали. Одни плюсы достались Западной Европе, прошедшей через нацистскую оккупацию и избегшей советской. Для Польши минусы и плюсы были равны; для Молдавии, Румынии, Бессарабии минусов было больше; для Югославии было больше плюсов, ибо СССР не смел ее тронуть. Словом, какой-никакой, а баланс.<br />Но в случае с Грузией мы можем отложить счеты и компы. Здесь один чистый вред для России, Грузии, мира, каждого из нас. Все по детскому стишку Маяковского "Что такое хорошо и что такое плохо?" Помните? Все однозначно. "Если бьет дрянной драчун слабого мальчишку, я такого не хочу даже вставить в книжку".<br />Маленькая кроткая Грузия, сделавшая России одно только добро (даже в 1991 году они дали "нулевой" вариант гражданства: всем гражданам Грузии, и русским в том числе, независимо от знания языка и срока проживания). Грузия любила нас, кормила шашлычками, поила чудным вином, приглашала на застолья с люля-кебабом и чахохбили; она восхищалась белокожими девушками; она одаривала нас кружевными соснами Пицунды, сапфировым морем Гагр, Ботаническим садом и остатками древней римской крепости в Сухуми; она вдохновляла Пастернака, воспевшего Кобулети ("Обнявший, как поэт в работе, /Что в жизни порознь видно двум, —/ Одним концом — ночное Поти,/ Другим — светающий Батум").<br />В Поти российские оккупанты, которые контролируют город и порт, а после обеда в ресторане на просьбу заплатить расплачиваются автоматными очередями. Из города выгнали полицию и местную власть и не пускают туда независимых и грузинских журналистов. Туда попадают только "продажники" (хороший украинский термин), работающие на путинскую хунту. В Батуми стоит, слава Богу, авангард натовского флота. По дивному пляжу шагают российские сапоги: наконец-то помыли - если не в Индийском океане, то хотя бы в чужом порту. А Гагры, Пицунда, Сухуми – все это Грузия утратила навсегда.<br />Грузия нас любила, но она любила и свободу, и за это взбесившаяся от безнаказанности путинская Россия разорвала на части ее живое, прекрасное тело, четвертовала и распяла ее. Когда-то, будучи сатрапом от КПСС, Эдуард Шеварднадзе заявил, что солнце для Грузии встает на Севере. Нет! С севера пришла беда похуже монгольского или персидского нашествия. Сегодня Шеварднадзе умоляет своих бывших "корешей" и "подельников" вывести из Грузии войска. Как будто он не знает, что у КГБ нет милосердия. Россия пошла танковыми колоннами на грузинский кинематограф, на грузинских поэтов и писателей, на Тамару и Демона, на Грибоедова и Нину Чавчавадзе.<br />Ничего, кроткие грузины научатся нас ненавидеть. И когда-нибудь пролитые из-за нас слезы угнетенных народов превратятся в наш локальный Потоп, и мы утонем в них. Эта подлая война обязывает каждого порядочного россиянина стать в пятую колонну. Сегодня мы все грузины, в ком еще не умерла совесть. Я плохо знаю грузинский язык. Но я знаю слово "ara" ("нет") и фразу "Poutin cartvéli eris djalatia" (Путин – палач грузинского народа). И, сказав это, я разрываю дипломатические отношения с чекистским государством, и даже не оставляю консульский отдел.<br />Какая там "восьмерка"! В войне против Финляндии в 1939 году Сталин потерял место в Лиге Наций, а за Грузию нас должны выкинуть из ООН! И никогда приличные люди из российских пределов не должны ездить на абхазские курорты, чтобы не стать соучастниками международного разбоя. В этой путинской войне против Грузии, против будущего, против человечества, нам нужно одно только поражение Кремля. Одно на всех! Мы за ценой не постоим.<br /><a class="articleSource" href="http://grani.ru/" target="_blank">Грани.ру</a>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-23737158383120804812008-09-04T15:53:00.001+04:002008-09-04T16:08:11.683+04:00A confusion of ‘peacekeepers’<strong>Financial Times</strong><br /><br />September 2, 2008<br />By Quentin Peel<br /><br />Exactly who is fooling whom in Georgia? Russia claims to have its troops there as “peacekeepers”, although they were an important party to the conflict. Now the European Union intends to send 200 civilian peace “monitors”, although they will not be allowed into the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, where mass expulsions of ethnic Georgians have been taking place.<br />Monday’s decision by EU leaders in Brussels demands Russian troops return to where they were on August 7, the day when hostilities broke out in South Ossetia. At that time, the vast majority were in Russia, many in the garrison town of Vladikavkaz.<br />At least, that is where they were supposed to be. If they were already inside South Ossetia on August 7, then the Georgian claim they attacked Tskhinvali that night in response to a Russian invasion will be proved true. Russia maintains its tanks only entered on August 8.<br />The trouble is, there is not a hope in hell Russia will pull its troops out of South Ossetia now. It has recognised the territory’s independence and promised to reinforce its military security. The South Ossetians have officially requested the establishment of a full-scale Russian base there.<br />Nor will Russia pull out many of the estimated 9,000 troops it poured into Abkhazia, the other secessionist region that has now declared independence.<br />The EU leaders decided to “postpone” negotiations about a new partnership and co-operation agreement with Russia until the troops are back where they were on August 7. That is what the original ceasefire agreement, negotiated by Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, with Dmitry Medvedev, his Russian counterpart, clearly stated. Mr Sarkozy flies back to Moscow on August 8 to insist on the point.<br />If the EU is serious, it would mean the partnership talks would have to be postponed indefinitely, if the Russian troops do not go home. Or will the EU simply allow Russia to define the terms of its disengagement?<br />The best Mr Sarkozy can hope for is that they pull out of the so-called “buffer zone” they have set up around South Ossetia and Abkhazia, deep inside undisputed Georgian territory. That is the only area that 200 unarmed EU monitors will be allowed near. The same is likely to be true for another 100 military monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).<br />Yet mass ethnic cleansing seems to have been taking place in the buffer zones and secessionist territories. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that some 138,000 people have fled south from the two territories. There is no reliable information from inside South Ossetia. The numbers suggest the vast majority of ethnic Georgians have been expelled.<br />OSCE monitors were told last week they could not enter even the Russian buffer zone as their safety from roaming bands of Ossetian militia could not be guaranteed. “Hard to understand why, if they are supposed to be in charge,” an OSCE diplomat said.<br />Russian officials refer to their troops as “peacekeepers”. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin, Russian prime minister, said on Tuesday there were no “Russian troops” left in the Georgian buffer zones, only “peacekeepers”. Whatever they are, they have failed to stop the ethnic cleansing.<br />By sending in the troops and tanks, and recognising Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence, Russia has changed the reality on the ground. Moscow insists negotiations to put monitors on their territory must be conducted with the independent governments. No one else in the OSCE or EU recognises them as independent.<br />As for the ceasefire’s final point – that international discussions will be held “on the arrangements for security and stability in Abkhazia and South Ossetia” – Russia has simply pre-empted them by its own “arrangements”. Any international negotiations seem an exercise in futility.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-20413012388737168512008-09-04T15:22:00.000+04:002008-09-04T15:25:16.782+04:00STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT BUSH ON AID TO GEORGIA<strong>WHITE HOUSE</strong><br /><em></em><br /><em>Press release</em><br />September 3, 2008<br /><br /><strong>PRESIDENT BUSH</strong>: Last month, Russia invaded a sovereign neighbor and violated Georgia’s territorial integrity. The people of Georgia withstood the assault from the Russian military, and the international community rallied to stand with the people of Georgia and their democratically elected government.<br />Early in the crisis, I directed a series of steps to demonstrate America’s solidarity with Georgia, including instructing Secretary Gates to oversee a mission by the U.S. military to provide humanitarian aid for the people of Georgia. Since the conflict began, our Nation has provided nearly $30 million in humanitarian assistance to Georgia, including more than 1,200 tons of food and other relief supplies delivered by the U.S. military. While that mission continues, the United States is also prepared to help Georgia rebuild and regain its position as one of the world’s fastest growing economies.<br />On Monday, September 1, European leaders announced that the European Union is prepared to provide aid for reconstruction in Georgia, including the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and would soon convene an international conference to assist Georgia in its reconstruction. The United States applauds the actions taken by the European Union, and we will participate in the EU’s reconstruction conference.<br />As part of America’s contribution to this international effort, today, I am announcing $1 billion in additional economic assistance to meet Georgia’s humanitarian needs and to support its economic recovery. More than half of these funds will be made available in the near term and will support reconstruction efforts in Georgia, assist the Government of Georgia in leading the nation’s recovery, and meet ongoing humanitarian needs, including the resettlement of displaced families. The balance of the funds, together with assistance from the European Union and other partners, will help the Government of Georgia rebuild critical infrastructure and help local communities and businesses get back on their feet. My Administration looks forward to working with Congress on elements of this package. The Vice President will brief Georgia’s leadership on this package when he visits Tbilisi tomorrow.<br />Today, I have also directed a number of Federal agencies to expand their support for Georgia’s economic recovery. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab will take steps to expand trade and investment in Georgia, by negotiating an enhanced bilateral investment treaty and expanding preferential access to the U.S. market for Georgian exports. Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez will assist U.S. firms interested in trade and investment in Georgia and dispatch a trade mission to Georgia in the coming weeks. Secretary of Transportation Peters will make available risk insurance to support U.S. maritime commerce with Georgia. Secretary of the Treasury Paulson will continue to lead our efforts to coordinate assistance efforts with international financial institutions, and Secretaries Rice and Gates will continue to coordinate with our international partners to ensure that our aid is delivered swiftly to those who need it most.<br />Georgia has a strong economic foundation and leaders with an impressive record of reform. Our additional economic assistance will help the people of Georgia recover from the assault on their country, and continue to build a prosperous and competitive economy.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-52951557730627359002008-09-02T17:17:00.001+04:002008-09-02T19:28:30.343+04:00In South Ossetia, I witnessed the worst ethnic cleansing since the war in the Balkans<strong>«The Guardian»</strong> (UK)<br />Monday September 1 2008<br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/01/russia.georgia">http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/01/russia.georgia</a><br /><strong><em>Russia's cruel intention</em></strong><br /><br /><a name="&amp;lid=">Luke Harding</a><br /><br />After three weeks in Georgia reporting on the war and its aftermath, I find one conversation sticks with me. I had arrived in Karaleti, a Georgian village north of Gori. I had gone there with a group of foreign journalists in a Russian army truck; our ultimate destination was Tskhinvali, in South Ossetia. Several houses along the main road had been burned down; an abandoned Lada lay in a ditch; someone had looted the local school.<br />Refugees from Karaleti and nearby villages gave the same account: South Ossetian militias had swept in on August 12, killing, burning, stealing and kidnapping. Sasha, our Kremlin minder, however, had a different explanation. "Georgian special commandos burned the houses," he told us. I demurred, pointing out that it was unlikely Georgian special commandos would have burned down Georgian villages north of Tskhinvali, deep inside rebel-held South Ossetia. Sasha's face grew dark; he wasn't used to contradiction. "Those houses suffered from a gas or electricity leak," he answered majestically.<br />Despite Sasha's inventive attempts to lie, it's evident what is currently happening in Georgia: <strong>South Ossetian militias, facilitated by the Russian army, are carrying out the worst ethnic cleansing since the war in former Yugoslavia. Despite the random nature of these attacks, the overall aim is clear: to create a mono-ethnic greater South Ossetia in which Georgians no longer exist.<br /></strong>Before Georgia's attack on Tskhinvali on August 7/8, South Ossetia was a small but heterogeneous region, a patchwork of picturesque Georgian and Ossetian villages. Georgia's government controlled a third; the separatists and their handlers from Russia's spy agencies controlled another third, principally around the town of Tskhinvali; the other third was under nobody's control. Surprisingly, both groups coexisted in South Ossetia.<br />A week after the conflict started I drove up to Akhalgori, a mountain town, 41km north-west of Tbilisi. South Ossetian militias, together with Russian soldiers from Dagestan, had captured the town the previous evening. Most residents had already fled; by the bus stop I found a group of women waiting for a lift. The town had no history of ethnic conflict, they said. Its population was mixed. Now almost all the Georgians had fled. I asked a militia leader, Captain Elrus, whether his men had ethnically cleansed Georgian villages between Tskhinvali and Gori. "We did carry out cleaning operations, yes," he admitted.<br />The Kremlin's South Ossetian allies have re-established the old Soviet borders of South Ossetia. This new, greater territory will, as South Ossetia's parliamentary speaker made clear on Friday, become part of the Russian Federation: a large Georgian-free enclave stretching almost to the suburbs of Tbilisi.<br />Back in Karaleti, meanwhile, villagers are continuing to flee. After August 12, dozens escaped on foot, walking for three days across the fields, hiding from the militias and eating wild plums. South Ossetian gunmen are preventing refugees from returning, and forcing the few elderly residents who remain to leave as well. The Russian military has done nothing to stop this. Its peacekeeping mandate is little more than a pretext for occupation. There are Russian checkpoints between Gori and Tskhinvali.<br />EU leaders meet today in Brussels to discuss how to respond to Russia's invasion and occupation of Georgia, and President Dmitry Medvedev's unilateral recognition of South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence. Already the European appetite for sanctions appears to be fading, with the French and the Germans signalling an unwillingness to punish Moscow. But the EU needs to be clear about what is happening. Russia is not merely redrawing the map of Europe but changing its human geography too.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-4348461381216435792008-09-01T17:59:00.001+04:002008-09-01T18:05:38.246+04:00WHAT THE EUROPEAN UNION CAN DO ABOUT GEORGIA AFTER THE RUSSIAN INVASIONAugust 30, 2008<br /><br /><strong>Vladimir Socor,</strong><br />Senior Fellow, Eurasia Daily Monitor, The Jamestown Foundation, Volume 5, Issue 166<br /><br />The EU's emergency summit on September 1 must contemplate the wreckage of European policies in the eastern neighborhood and toward Russia. Following Russia's invasion of Georgia and forcible change of borders there, the EU can expect intensified Russian pressures (perhaps after a decent interval) on Ukraine, the Baltic states, Moldova, and Azerbaijan.<br />While the form and combination of pressures --- economic, political, military --- will vary from country to country, Russia has set in motion a general process of overturning the post-1991 international order. Georgia became the first target.<br />Although triggered by the assault on Georgia, the EU summit would be remiss if it does not offer assurances of political support and integration prospects to Ukraine and Moldova, as well as a strong affirmation of Europe 's interest in the Azerbaijan-Georgia energy transit corridor.<br />Given that Russia had handed over its passports en masse in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, then intervened to "protect Russia 's citizens," the EU needs clearly to de-legitimize this sort of "passportizatsiya." The EU had seen it coming in Georgia but said nothing. Failure to de-legitimize it could next hit the EU in the face in Ukraine, Moldova, or the Baltic States.<br />The Brussels summit grapples with a two-part agenda: First, rescuing the state of Georgia from territorial dismemberment, economic devastation, and Russian military occupation. And second, setting prohibitive costs to Moscow's use of coercion in Europe's East, where reimposition of Russian predominance would enhance Russia 's power vis-à-vis the EU and NATO.<br />The EU seems broadly prepared to extend political and economic support to Georgia; but appears divided on whether to recognize the challenge from the revisionist power Russia, let alone how to handle that challenge.<br /><strong>At its Brussels summit, the EU can offer Georgia the following forms of support:<br /></strong>· <strong><em>Elevate to the top of the policy agenda the issue of removing Russia's military buffer zones ("security zones") from Georgia's interior.</em></strong> Carved out by Russia unilaterally, those occupied zones bear no relation to the French-mediated "armistice;" rather, they tear it up. Those zones extend far beyond Abkhaz and South Ossetian territories, jeopardize Georgia 's vital transportation arteries, undermine the viability of the oil and gas transit corridor, and reduce Georgia to an insecure, precarious rump state.<br />· <strong><em>Revert to full diplomatic backing of Georgia's territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.</em></strong> German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Nicolas Sarkozy had conspicuously abandoned that principle in the conflict-resolution plan on Abkhazia in June and the sham "armistice" in August, respectively. That backpedaling (by third parties at Georgia's expense) undoubtedly encouraged Russia to "recognize" Abkhazia and South Ossetia and bite off further chunks of inner Georgian territory in the so-called buffer zones. As part of delegitimizing Russia 's "recognition," the EU is well placed to announce that it would withhold EU aid from countries that recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia .<br />· <strong><em>Recognize officially the fact that mass ethnic cleansing was carried out in Abkhazia in the 1990s and in South Ossetia (plus the "buffer zone") in August 2008, invalidating the territorial self-determination claim of the perpetrator authorities.</em></strong> Some EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner, have duly noted this in the run-up to the EU summit (Deutsche Welle, Agence France Presse, August 26-28). The EU as such, however, needs to go on record on the two cases of ethnic cleansing, condemn them, and draw the appropriate policy consequences.<br />· <strong><em>Call for an impartial international investigation by an independent panel into the events that led to the Russia-Georgia war and its consequences on the ground.</em></strong> Georgia 's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already called for such an investigation, offering full access to evidence and on the ground (press release, August 29).<br />· <strong><em>Assemble and dispatch an EU peacekeeping contingent to Georgia. Such a contingent could consist of multinational gendarme-type (militarized police) or civilian police units, as well as unarmed military observers, drawn from EU member countries.</em></strong> It should be assigned to replace the Russian troops stationed in the so-called buffer zones, as Chancellor Merkel (Deutsche Welle, August 26) and others have suggested. The EU could confer a mandate of its own to such a contingent within the framework of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). Alternatively, a coalition of the willing from among EU countries could contribute the personnel. In either case, Georgia can exercise its sovereign right to invite such a contingent to its territory. Seeking a mandate from the UN, as France suggests (AFP, August 26) or the OSCE would be the wrong way for the EU to proceed. In that case, Russia would use its veto in either organization to delay the contingent's arrival indefinitely or to reduce its size and mission to near-irrelevance (as is already the case with the UN and OSCE missions in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, respectively, due to Russia 's veto power).<br />· <strong><em>Authorize EU funding for a reconstruction assistance package, to be developed by the Georgian government in consultation with the World Bank and possibly other institutions.</em></strong> The value of this package must be commensurate with the damage inflicted on Georgia's infrastructure by the Russian military during the invasion and "armistice". A non-commensurate reconstruction package would signal (not for the first time) that the EU is not serious about using Georgia 's unique transit potential in Europe 's interest. The EU may appoint a special representative for reconstruction in Georgia . The Czech Republic has offered to host an aid donors' conference for Georgia. The EU's reconstruction assistance, however, is no substitute for a strategic policy of the EU, which is lacking in Georgia and the South Caucasus generally.<br />· <strong><em>Fast-track a visa facilitation agreement and a free trade agreement between the EU and Georgia.</em></strong> Both were in the works well before the Russian invasion and have become even more urgent now. Beyond their intrinsic value to Georgia and its citizens, the fast-track completion of these agreements would also serve to demonstrate at least a measure of EU engagement in Georgia for the long term.<br />The EU's common foreign policy, security policy, energy policy, and neighborhood policy all lack credibility with an adversarial Russia, with pro-western-countries in Europe 's East, or indeed within the EU itself. The EU now has an unprecedented opportunity to gain some credibility all-around by an active policy in the Russian-invaded Georgia .State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-16349879414121756172008-08-29T18:09:00.001+04:002008-08-29T18:41:50.897+04:00Бегство с берегов Черного моря, война нервов между флотами<strong> «La Repubblica»</strong> (Италия)<br />29 августа 2008 года<br /><a href="http://www.inopressa.ru/repubblica/2008/08/29/13:36:40/flot">http://www.inopressa.ru/repubblica/2008/08/29/13:36:40/flot</a><br /><br /><strong><em>Бегство с берегов Черного моря, война нервов между флотами</em></strong><br />Даниеле Мастроджакомо<br /><br />"Вон, уходите вон!" С голым торсом и с автоматами Калашникова наперевес группа российских солдат собралась вокруг костра, пламя которого и черный густой дым поднимаются на двухметровую высоту. Мы оказались заблокированными на дороге, на которой ныне полно ям, заполненных зеленоватой водой.<br />Водитель в растерянности. Он хотел нажать на газ и прорваться через блок. "Я должен отсюда уехать, они еще не наши хозяева", – говорит он дрожащим от страха голосом. Солдаты приближаются, идут к нам. Некоторые передергивают затворы автоматов, выкрикивают фразы, которые переводчик хладнокровно и решительно продолжает переводить, хотя это оскорбления. Крестьянин, устроившийся под деревом, крутит пальцем у виска. Он принимает нас за безумцев. Он подходит к нашей машине и жестами показывает на улицу, уходящую влево.<br />Теперь дула автоматов не далее чем в десяти метрах, и солдаты наводят их на нас. Водитель отступает. Он наклоняется, ворчит, включает первую скорость, давит на газ и уезжает. Он поддается ярости, которая в течение вот уже двух недель переполняет грузин: он выставляет руку из окна и показывает средний палец в совершенно понятном жесте.<br />Новая холодная война, война нервов, провокаций, демонстраций мускулов и больших маневров, теперь разворачивается вдоль берегов Черного моря. На расстоянии менее 50 км противостоят друг другу корабли НАТО и США и корабли России. Первые, всего 8 судов, совершают челночные рейсы между контейнеровозами, вставшими на якорь в открытом море, и портом Батуми, расположенным в двух шагах от границы с Турцией. Вторые, их около десятка, встали на якорь в нескольких милях и регулируют навигацию, не позволяя кому-либо приблизиться. Мы наблюдали за ними, расположившимися перед портом Поти, важным коммерческим и военным центром в центральной части побережья Грузии, половина которого теперь находится в руках русских. Чтобы добраться туда, нам пришлось ехать через всю страну по единственной дороге, ведущей к морю. Она была вновь открыта два дня назад, но на ней все еще существуют блокпосты, военные лагеря и траншеи, которые российские солдаты не покидают, несмотря на перемирие, подписанное в прошлый вторник.<br />Дорога выходит в обширную долину, окруженную холмами, на которых видны следы пожаров, уничтоживших гектары лесов. В ходе наступления на Тбилиси русские танки сожгли сосны и буки, чтобы обеспечить лучший обзор и изгнать грузинские подразделения, готовившиеся к сопротивлению. Самую высокую цену заплатил город Гори, родина Сталина, где на центральной площади все еще возвышается его скульптурное изображение, сохранился его дом, обнесенный специальной стеной, и вагон, в котором советский диктатор любил путешествовать. Дороги изрыты снарядами гаубиц, выворотившими асфальт и повредившими стены домов и тротуары. Группы рабочих заняты устранением последствий катастрофы, лишившей крова сотни семей, в большинстве своем крестьянских. Коровы, лошади, ослы и свиньи беспорядочно бродят и поедают траву, выросшую на дорогах. Река Риони стала пограничной линией. В воздухе чувствуется напряженность. Упорядоченное уличное движение отсутствует.<br />Больше нет грузовиков, большегрузных контейнеровозов. Только тележки, фургоны и автобусы с беженцами и скарбом на крышах. Они уезжают подальше от побережья. Атмосфера ожидания теперь регулирует повседневную жизнь грузин. Телевизоры и радиоприемники постоянно включены: народ следит за событиями в реальном времени. Люди вполголоса обсуждают самые громкие заявления, улыбаются, когда сообщают о поддержке и солидарности. Надежда проявляется в мелочах. Магазины открыты, отдыхающие возвращаются на море, из баров и ресторанов доносится музыка.<br />В Поти стоит удушающая жара. Дороги пустынны, проезжают редкие автомобили. Звук клаксона, рука, высунутая из окна, – единственные проявления жизни. Русские солдаты – по утверждению многих, это наемники – остаются в городе. Они оккупировали четыре зоны, считающиеся стратегическими, и никому не позволяют к ним приближаться. Мы предпринимаем попытку. И вновь угрозы, очереди из АК-47 в воздух, советы соблюдать дистанцию. Достан Полиески, директор Corporation for Poti Sea Port, подтвердил информацию о том, что зона свободного порта, которой управляют предприниматели из Дубаи, все еще в руках российских солдат.<br />"8 августа, – рассказывает он, – был первый массированный обстрел сначала торгового, а затем и военного порта. Погибли пять человек, еще пятеро были ранены. Это были рабочие, занятые на погрузке и разгрузке. Но через пять дней, 13 августа, был новый обстрел. На этот раз с суши. Десять танков вторглись в военную зону и захватили 20 грузинских солдат, находившихся в нескольких американских автомобилях Hummer. Их всех взяли в плен, конфисковали имевшиеся средства. Говорят, на этих машинах находилось высокотехнологичное оборудование". Из-за этого оборудования идет новый обмен обвинениями. Острая полемика и заявления, нацеленные на то, чтобы втянуть США в кризис и доказать их прямое участие. Оставаться в Поти еще довольно рискованно.<br />Слухи о штурмах и новых нападениях продолжают циркулировать, и никто не может их опровергнуть. Нет и следов присутствия грузинских солдат: между тем вчера 12 пленных грузинских солдат обменяли на генерала Романа Думбадзе, приговоренного к 17 годам тюрьмы за измену родине. Только редкие полицейские патрули проезжают по дорогам в тени деревьев, чтобы изобразить видимость контроля над территорией. Но траншеи, вырытые русскими солдатами на въезде и на выезде из города, являются явным свидетельством того, кто командует на западе страны. Населению не остается ничего другого, как покидать город. Тбилиси чувствует себя теперь не только американским городом с единственным шоссе, носящим имя Джорджа Буша, но и европейским. Людям приходится считаться с другими срочными проблемами. Вступление в НАТО может подождать, теперь надо противостоять бандам: одетые в российскую форму люди по ночам вылезают из укрытий и занимаются грабежом. А в открытом море и портах Черного моря корабли новой холодной войны на расстоянии наблюдают друг за другом.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-33388770227768078982008-08-29T16:30:00.000+04:002008-08-29T18:09:48.837+04:00ХАМАС и «Хезболла» поддержали Кокойты28 АВГУСТА 2008 г.<br /><br /><a href="http://w2.hidemyass.com/index.php?q=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5lai5ydS8%2FYT1hdXRob3ImYW1wO2lkPTEy">ЮЛИЯ ЛАТЫНИНА</a><br /><br />Признание Россией независимости Южной Осетии и Абхазии получило-таки международную поддержку. Действия России одобрили две такие авторитетные международные организации как ХАМАС и «Хезболла».<br />Эта замечательная дружеская поддержка лишний раз свидетельствует о том, что происходит в Закавказье. А именно — о палестинизации Кавказа. О разделении Грузии на две части — европейскую процветающую Грузию с центром в Тбилиси и два парагосударственных анклава, являющихся заложниками или союзниками России.<br />Как устроена «Хезболла»? А очень просто. Есть Израиль, где люди работают, трудятся, живут. А есть «Хезболла», которая шмаляет по этому Израилю ракетами, запущенными из собственных домов, полных жен и детишек, и объясняет, что во всем виноваты проклятые евреи. Никакой другой работы, кроме как запускать ракеты, нет. Никакого другого смысла жизни, кроме ненависти к евреям, тоже. Если евреи не отвечают на ракеты, ракет становится больше. Когда евреи отвечают, на свет торжественно извлекают трупы убитых детей и говорят: «Мы же вам говорили, что евреи — исчадия ада!»<br />Найдите, что называется, девять различий с Южной Осетией. Где по грузинским селам палили из автоматов, а то и из минометов, а ответный огонь называли «провокацией». Где пропаганда грузин как врагов нации занимала все время, оставшееся от показа мудрого вождя Кокойты. Когда в селе Курта в соседнем грузинском анклаве выстроили больницу, куда можно было пойти лечиться (а заодно кинотеатр, дискотеку, магазины и пр.), власти перекрыли границу. И не смогли починить водопровод, а населению объяснили, что воды нет, потому что ее выпили грузины.<br />Вот это-то совместное предприятие по освоению денег на борьбу с Грузией мы и признали, и после этого признания президент Медведев заявил, что готов к новой «холодной войне».<br />Насчет «холодной войны» не знаю, но я бы сравнила происходящее со сравнительно недавним поворотом в мировой истории — с 11 сентября 2001 г. И сравнила бы вот почему.<br />У «Аль-Каеды» нет ни людских, ни материальных, ни интеллектуальных, ни финансовых ресурсов, чтоб хоть как-то соперничать со свободным миром. «Аль-Каеда» не сделала ни одного открытия, не построила ни одного завода, ее члены не написали ни одной книги, достойной занять свое место в мировой литературе. Вообще ничего. Зеро. Единственный ресурс, которым обладает «Аль-Каеда» — это сам открытый мир, его научные достижения, его промышленная инфраструктура.<br />И вот оказалось, что это интеллектуальное и финансовое зеро способно причинить открытому миру капитальное зло. И для этого не надо ничего — ни творить, ни создавать, ни изобретать — достаточно злой воли. Почти невозможно ничего противопоставить террористам, которые решили захватить самолет, взорвать поезд или взять в заложники школу в Маалоте или Беслане.<br />Так вот ресурсы свободного мира и нынешней России почти так же несопоставимы, как ресурсы свободного мира и «Аль-Каеды». В России нет ничего, кроме нефти и газа. В наших магазинах продаются турецкие шмотки, китайская электроника, индонезийские кроссовки, финские унитазы, тайваньские мобильники и пр. Даже цемент в Россию стало выгодно завозить из-за рубежа.<br />Наша элита ездит на импортных машинах, покупает дома за границей и обучает детей в западных университетах. Почему-то она отдыхает не в передовых странах типа Северной Кореи или Ливии, которые вместе с нами противостоят четвертому рейху в лице США, а на проклятом Западе, и — о чудо из чудес! — даже свои личные счета эти люди держат не в Венесуэле или Иране, а в Швейцарии и Великобритании.<br />Это вовсе не «новая холодная война», и не мечтайте. В «холодной войне» сражались страны с сопоставимыми военными бюджетами. Правда, для того, чтобы бюджеты были сопоставимы, СССР тратил до 70-80% ВВП на оборону, при этом в его распоряжении были ресурсы Восточной Европы и выдающиеся умы вроде Ландау, Келдыша, Королева и др.<br />Теперь ресурсы несопоставимы даже близко. Ландау и Келдыши уехали, Восточная Европа разбежалась, а население, которое раньше довольствовалось пайкой хлеба и фильмом «Донские казаки», не может теперь прожить не то что без иностранного мобильника и иностранного телевизора — оно не может прожить и без американского боевика. Петросян не в силах удовлетворить его взыскующий вкус, кроме Петросяна искатели пищи духовной жаждут еще и Сильвестра Сталлоне, и Бритни Спирс.<br />Единственный ресурс, который остался у Кремля — это злая воля. Как мы видим, этот ресурс практически неисчерпаем.<br />Современное открытое общество с трудом, но иногда может справиться с единичными террористами. Однако оно совершенно неприспособленно для борьбы с террористическими анклавами, типа того же ХАМАСа. Их сила в том, что они делают свое население своим соучастником. Спросите нищего палестинца, кто такие евреи, и он совершенно искренне ответит, что это — нелюди, которые убили его двоюродного племянника, когда тот шел, обвязавшись взрывчаткой, в их жидовский детский сад. И ему в голову никогда не придет задуматься над тем, почему сами евреи никогда не обвязываются взрывчаткой и не ходят в таком виде в палестинские детские сады. Спросите нищего жителя Цхинвали, кто такие грузины, и он совершенно искренне ответит вам, что это — нелюди, которые вошли в Цхинвали специально, чтобы перерезать всех детей и изнасиловать всех женщин, но, слава богу, «мы теперь там все зачистили». И ему никогда не придет в голову задуматься над тем, что в Грузии проживает не меньше осетин, чем в Южной Осетии, и почему-то кровавый маньяк Саакашвили не режет осетин, хотя они находятся в его полной власти и лишены поддержки и защиты со стороны Кокойты.<br />Как я уже сказала, такие анклавы совершенно непобедимы, пользуются полной поддержкой того населения, которое из них не сбежало, и могут существовать неограниченное время. Но зачем России поддерживать подобные анклавы или тем более становится таким анклавом — рационального ответа нет.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-46882586442738618002008-08-29T16:20:00.001+04:002008-08-29T16:30:41.582+04:00Putin maps the boundaries of greater Russia<strong>FINANCIAL TIMES</strong><br />August 28, 2008<br /><br />By Philip Stephens<br /><br />We need to get this straight. Vladimir Putin’s Russia has invaded a neighbour, annexed territory and put in place a partial military occupation. It seeks to overthrow the president of Georgia and to overturn the global geopolitical order.<br />It has repudiated its signature on a ceasefire negotiated by France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and disowned its frequent affirmations of Georgia’s territorial integrity. Most importantly: all of this is our fault.<br />The “our” in this context, of course, refers to the US and the more headstrong of its European allies such as Britain. If only Washington had been nicer to the Russians after the fall of the Berlin Wall. If only the west had not humiliated Moscow after the break-up of the Soviet Union.<br />Surely we can see now what a provocation it was to allow the former vassal states of the Soviet empire to exercise their democratic choice to join the community of nations? And what of permitting them to shelter under Nato’s security umbrella and to seek prosperity for their peoples in the European Union? Nothing, surely, could have been more calculated to squander the post-cold-war peace.<br />Such is the cracked record played over and over again by the Russian prime minister and recited now by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s notional president. Sadly, it also finds echoes among those in Europe who prefer appeasing Mr Putin to upholding the freedoms of their neighbours.<br />This Russian claim to victimhood is as vacuous as it is dishonest.<br />Mr Putin has said the collapse of the Soviet Union was the great geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. Now he wants to subjugate his country’s neighbours in the cause of a greater Russia. The aim is to turn back the clock: to extend his country’s borders to create the greater Russia sought by the leaders of the abortive coup against Boris Yeltsin in 1991. The west must not collude with Mr Putin’s falsified version of history.<br />There is no doubt that Russians feel they suffered great hurt and indignity during the 1990s. They did. But it is a misreading of events to blame the US, the west, the EU or Nato.<br />The blindingly obvious point is that humiliation was inevitable and unavoidable. Until the collapse of communism the world belonged to Washington and Moscow. Suddenly almost everything was lost to Russia. The political and economic system that had once aspired to global domination was reduced to dust.<br />Open a history book. Humiliation is what happens when nations lose their empires. Ask the British. Half a century after Suez, part of the British psyche still laments this retreat from the world. You could say the same about the French.<br />The implosion of the Soviet Union could not stir anything but a sense of shame among Russians. But ah, you hear Mr Putin’s apologists say, the west fed Russian paranoia. For half a century central and eastern Europe had been signed over to Moscow. Now the west’s institutions rolled like tanks up to Russia’s borders.<br />The problem is that this account does not fit the facts. George H.W. Bush was anything but triumphalist in his response to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Indeed, the then US president faced sharp criticism from many Americans for refusing to dance on communism’s grave.<br />It is true Bill Clinton’s presidency began with some rhetorical flourishes about spreading democracy. And the US administration did press hard for the expansion of Nato, in part because the EU dragged its feet about opening its doors. Some doubted the wisdom of the Nato policy. George Kennan, the author of the cold war doctrine of containment, was among those arguing against Mr Clinton. But then, the revered Mr Kennan was not infallible. He had, after all, opposed the creation of the alliance.<br />Doubtless there were moments when the US, and Europe for that matter, could have been more tactful. The disciples of free markets dispatched to Moscow by the International Monetary Fund probably bear some blame for the catastrophic melt-down of Russia’s economy. But no, the historical record does not show a deliberate or concerted effort by the US or anyone else to mock or multiply Russia’s misfortunes.<br />When Mr Putin talks about humiliation, he means something else. Washington’s crime was to assume that the Yalta agreement had fallen along with the Berlin Wall, and that the peoples and nations of the erstwhile Soviet empire should thus be free to make their own choices.<br />In the Kremlin’s mindset, showing due respect for Russia would have meant allowing it to continue to hold sway over its near-abroad. The most that the citizens of Ukraine and the Baltic states should have expected was the ersatz independence now bestowed on South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Poles, Hungarians, Czechs and the rest should have been locked out of western institutions.<br />Mr Putin has reopened the issue that seemed to have been settled in 1991 when Yeltsin saw off the tanks at the doors of the Russian White House. Yeltsin decided that the borders of the Russian Federation should follow those of the Soviet republics. That left the Crimea as part of Ukraine, Ossetia and Abkhazia as part of Georgia. Mr Putin’s doctrine is calculated to reclaim Moscow’s sovereignty over ethnic Russians in neighbouring states. This is a greater Russia by another means.<br />The doctrine overturns one of the central geopolitical assumptions of the past two decades: that, for all its hurt pride, Russia saw its role as a powerful player within a post-cold-war geopolitical order. Mr Medvedev, speaking with his master’s voice, now repudiates the laws and institutions of that order.<br />For all the occasional bluster about a new authoritarian axis between Moscow and Beijing, the contrast that has most struck me in recent weeks has been between China and Russia. Beijing saw the Olympics as a celebration of China’s return as a great power. China has by no means signed up to the norms and assumptions of liberal democracy; it has still to decide whether it wants to be a free rider or a stakeholder in the international system. But it has concluded that its future lies with integration into a stable world order.<br />Moscow’s invasion of Georgia and its public scorn at the likely international response speaks to an entirely different mindset: a retreat from integration and a preference for force over rules. Russia’s neighbours are told they can be vassals or enemies. Mr Medvedev boasts Russia is ready for another cold war.<br />I struggle to see what Russia will gain. It is friendless. Governments and foreign investors alike now know that Moscow’s word is worthless. The price of aggression will be pariah status. Mr Putin, of course, will blame the west.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-89030084695979537892008-08-29T16:18:00.000+04:002008-08-29T16:20:18.733+04:00Russia trifles with genocide<strong>CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR</strong><br /><br />August 29, 2008<br /><br />A 2005 UN mandate that allows invasions to end genocides cannot be claimed by Moscow. Of Russia's many excuses for invading Georgia, its claim of preventing genocide has set back a new idea in human history.<br />In 2005, the UN said the international community must intervene in countries suffering mass atrocities – putting mercy before sovereignty. Russia abused this idea in Georgia. The world now needs to save this humanitarian impulse to prevent real genocides.<br />No mass atrocities were occurring, or were likely to occur, in Georgia's breakaway enclave of South Ossetia on the night of Aug. 7-8 when Russia invaded. Later reports by journalists indicated Georgian forces had been attacked first by Russian-backed insurgents. A few hundred civilians on both sides were killed in the crossfire and bombardments.<br />While tragic, the killings hardly rise to the level of genocide. And Russia had other means to calm or prevent the situation.<br />The fact that Russia didn't first use diplomacy or didn't restrict its forces to South Ossetia only reinforces reports that Moscow instigated the conflict in order to send a message. It really wanted the West to acknowledge its territorial imperium and its ability to command the region's oil reserves.<br />Instead, Russia claims the same moral and legal authority to intervene to protect South Ossetians as did NATO in 1999 to rescue Kosovo's ethnic Albanians. But the two conflicts are very different. And the distinctions are important in order to preserve the UN's 2005 mandate, which is often called "responsibility to protect," or R2P.<br />In Kosovo, Serb forces were massacring innocent ethnic Albanians, just as Serbian forces in Bosnia had killed 8,000 men from the town of Srebrenica in 1995 and committed ethnic cleansing in other parts of former Yugoslavia. The UN refused to act. NATO then decided to bomb Serbia into submission to prevent another Srebrenica-type atrocity.<br />NATO's action, while not legal without UN authority, was widely considered legitimate. Russia's action in Georgia is neither. And it fails to meet justification for humanitarian intervention. The gravity of the threat to human rights was not high enough and other options were not pursued.<br />The UN has yet to be specific on the exact criteria to trigger such interventions. That has left many small countries afraid that large countries will misuse the concept. Just ask the Georgians.<br />The moral imperative for R2P arose out of the failure to prevent the 1994 Rwanda genocide. It had a precedent in the 1993 US intervention in Somalia. The 2005 mandate limits such interventions to those cases where a government fails to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.<br />A global consensus on its use, however, remains fragile. After all, the idea challenges the centuries-old concept of the inviolability of borders. But R2P is rooted in the idea that individuals deserve as much sovereignty as a nation and that a massive loss of life requires a massive response by humanity.<br />Before Russia's excuse for its invasion becomes accepted, the world must renew its commitment to R2P with more clarity and precision.<br />Mercy must not be abused by bullies cloaked in false motives.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-57873850145623316532008-08-29T15:42:00.000+04:002008-08-29T16:03:01.794+04:00Georgia: Satellite Images Show Destruction, Ethnic Attacks<strong>HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH</strong><br />New York, August 29, 2008<br /><br /><strong><em>Russia Should be Investigated, Prosecute Crimes</em></strong><br /><br />Recent satellite images released by the UN program UNOSAT confirm the widespread torching of ethnic Georgian villages inside South Ossetia, Human Rights Watch said today.<br />Detailed analysis of the damage depicted in five ethnic Georgian villages shows the destruction of these villages around the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was caused by intentional burning and not armed combat.<br />“Human Rights Watch researchers personally witnessed Ossetian militias looting and burning down ethnic Georgian villages during their research in the area,” said Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch. “These satellite images indicate just how widespread the torching of these villages has been in the last two weeks.” The new satellite images, taken by a commercial satellite on August 19, were analyzed by experts of the Geneva-based UNOSAT program, which is part of the UN Institute for Training and Research and produces satellite-derived mapping in support of UN agencies and the international humanitarian community. UNOSAT experts identified visible structures on the images that were likely to have been either destroyed or severely damaged. The expert analysis indicates clear patterns of destruction that are consistent with the evidence gathered by Human Rights Watch researchers working in the region. Among the images publicly available from the UNOSAT website (<a href="http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/" target="_blank">http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/</a>) is a map marking satellite-detected active fire locations in the ethnic Georgian villages around Tskhinvali. The map shows active fires in the ethnic Georgian villages on August 10, 12, 13, 17, 19 and 22, well after active hostilities ended in the area on August 10. On these dates the lack of cloud cover allowed the satellites to view those locations.<br />· <a href="http://www.hrw.org/features/georgia/satellite/UNOSAT_Tskhinvali_MOD_Fire_082408_Highres_v3.pdf" target="_blank">Fires by date</a> (high resolution, 3.3MB) <br />· <a href="http://www.hrw.org/features/georgia/satellite/UNOSAT_Tskhinvali_MOD_Fire_082408_Lowres_v3.pdf" target="_blank">Fires by date</a> (low resolution, 1.6MB) <br />UNOSAT has also released a set of six high-resolution satellite images of the enclave of ethnic Georgian villages stretching nine kilometers north from Tskhinvali, showing that the majority of them have been destroyed. <br /><br />· <a href="http://www.hrw.org/features/georgia/satellite/UNOSAT_Damage_Atlas_Tskhinvali_Highres.pdf" target="_blank">Destroyed ethnic Georgian villages</a> (high resolution, 26.7MB) <br />· <a href="http://www.hrw.org/features/georgia/satellite/UNOSAT_Damage_Atlas_Tskhinvali_Lowres.pdf" target="_blank">Destroyed ethnic Georgian villages</a>(low resolution, 8.5MB)<br />The images strongly indicate that the majority of the destruction in five of the villages – Tamarasheni, Kekhvi, Kvemo Achabeti (Nizhnie Achaveti in Russian), Zemo Achabeti (Verkhnie Achaveti in Russian), and Kurta – was caused by intentional burning. The high-resolution images of these villages show no impact craters from incoming shelling or rocket fire, or aerial bombardment. The exterior and interior masonry walls of most of the destroyed homes are still standing, but the wood-framed roofs are collapsed, indicating that the buildings were burned. Only along the main road through Tamarasheni are a number of homes visible with collapsed exterior walls, which may have been caused by tank fire. Ethnic Georgian witnesses from Tamarasheni told Human Rights Watch that they had witnessed Russian tanks systematically firing into the homes on August 10.<br />· <a href="http://www.hrw.org/features/georgia/satellite/Burning_Villages.zip">Detailed satellite images of destroyed ethnic Georgian villages</a> (10.2MB)<br />On August 12, Human Rights Watch researchers witnessed massive looting by Ossetian militias in Tamarasheni, as well as in the neighboring ethnic Georgian villages. Human Rights Watch researchers saw and photographed the still-smoldering and the recently torched houses in Tamarasheni. Witnesses from local villagers in Tamarasheni, Kvemo Achabeti, and Kekhvi told Human Rights Watch that Ossetian militias were systematically <a href="http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/08/13/georgi19607.htm">looting and burning</a> ethnic Georgian homes. In the village of Kekhvi, many homes had been set alight by Ossetian militias just before the arrival of Human Rights Watch researchers, who photographed the burning homes.<br />· Human Rights Watch photo essay, <a href="http://www.hrw.org/photos/2008/georgia0808/">"Burning and Looting of Ethnic Georgian Villages in South Ossetia"</a><br />Human Rights Watch researchers spoke with several members of the Ossetian militias who openly admitted that the houses were being burned by their associates, explaining that the objective was to ensure that ethnic Georgians would not have the houses to return to. “All of this adds up to compelling evidence of war crimes and grave human rights abuses,” said Denber. “This should persuade the Russian government it needs to prosecute those responsible for these crimes.” The damage shown in the ethnic Georgian villages is massive and concentrated. In Tamarasheni, UNOSAT’s experts counted a total of 177 buildings destroyed or severely damaged, accounting for almost all of the buildings in the town. In Kvemo Achabeti, there are 87 destroyed and 28 severely damaged buildings (115 total); in Zemo Achabeti, 56 destroyed and 21 severely damaged buildings (77 total); in Kurta, 123 destroyed and 21 severely damaged buildings (144 total); in Kekhvi, 109 destroyed and 44 severely damaged buildings (153 total); in Kemerti, 58 destroyed and 20 severely damaged buildings (78 total); and in Dzartsemi, 29 destroyed and 10 severely damaged buildings (39 total). Selected Accounts from Ethnic Georgian Residents “[The Ossetians] had cars outside and first looted everything they liked. Then they brought hay, put it in the house and ignited it. The house was burned in front of my eyes.” – Zhuzhuna Chulukhidze, 76, resident of Zemo Achabeti “I was beaten and my house was looted by Ossetian militias three times during a single day. After they took everything and there was nothing more to loot, they brought petrol, poured it everywhere in the rooms and outside the house, and then put it on fire. They made me watch as my house was fully burned.” – Ila Chulukhadze, 84, resident of Kvemo Achabeti “They [Ossetians] came several times to my house and took everything they liked. Once there was nothing else to take, they poured petrol and put it on fire. I watched how they burned my house as well as my neighbors’ houses.” – Rezo Babutsidze, 80, resident of Kvemo Achabeti “Ossetians first took out everything they could from my house. Then they brought hay, put it in the house and put it on fire. They did not allow us to take even our documents. I saw how my house was completely burnt.” – Tamar Khutsinashvili, 69, resident of TamarasheniState Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-67986180834281144082008-08-29T15:33:00.000+04:002008-08-29T15:40:02.022+04:00Moscow through military aggression has invaded parts of the Georgian territorySince the collapse of the Soviet Union and restoration of Georgia’s independence, the Russian Federation has been pursuing the targeted policy aimed at fragmentation of the Georgian State and infringement of its sovereignty.<br />To achieve this goal Moscow through military aggression has invaded parts of the Georgian territory conducting total ethnic cleansing on the occupied areas. This is a follow-up to the policy the Russian State has been pursuing for many years through its client separatist regimes on the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Obviously, the Russian Federation uses ethnic cleansing as an instrument of its policy aimed at emptying the occupied territories of ethnic Georgians, in order to claim then that the population of these regions object to living within the state of Georgia. It is an extremely cynical attempt to justify steps taken to infringe Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Russian president’s statement of 26 August 2008 came as a culmination of these acts.On 26 August 2008, the president of Russia D. Medvedev made a statement on the recognition of independence of the so-called republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia created on the territories occupied by Russia. By recognising independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Russian Federation violated the principles of the equal rights and self-determination of peoples, non-interference in internal affairs of another state and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act (1975), which constitute fundamental principles of international law. In attempt to justify its own actions by deliberately misinterpreting the fundamental norms and principles of international law, the Russian Federation gravely violates the basics of the contemporary international system. By recognising Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Russian authorities not only undermine the principles of international law but also pose a real threat to the new world order established as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is an attempt to unilaterally alter the borders of a sovereign State with use of military force and reestablish the spheres of influence and dividing lines in Europe that would put a stop to democratic development and usher in an era of totalitarian rule through the same means that were employed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In legal terms, the right of peoples to self-determination means that this process should proceed within democratic frames. The will once expressed freely may only be superseded by an analogous decision made under no duress or interference by the external forces. In the process of gaining independence from the colonial regime of the Soviet Union, all ethnic groups of the Georgian population which took part in the referendum of 31 March 1991 voted in favour of ‘restoration of Georgia’s independence on the basis of the 26 May 1918 Independence Act’, which, inter alia, represents a freely expressed will of the population to live in an independent state within the borders as defined in 1918-1921. The international community confirmed the democratic character of the referendum by recognising Georgia’s independence. The referendum involved over 90.79 % of the population, of which 99.8% voted in favour of Georgia’s independence, which means that the population of Georgia implemented the right of peoples to self-determination upheld by the UN Charter, UN General Assembly Declaration on Principles of International Law (1970) and the Helsinki Final Act (1975).Therefore, all claims of the Russian Federation that Georgia’s international legal status was defined in disregard for the will of the Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples are absolutely groundless. The 1991 referendum was held throughout the entire territory of Georgia, including Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which implies that the aforesaid national minorities were also involved in this process. Recognising the right of the Abkhaz and Ossetian peoples to self-determination, Georgia emphasises the imperativeness of placing this process within a democratic framework and the necessity of upholding the fundamental principles of the contemporary international system: respect for the territorial integrity of sovereign states and inviolability of frontiers. The realisation of the right of peoples to self-determination by violating the principle of territorial integrity puts in jeopardy the peace and security of not only Georgia, but the international community as a whole.A special mention should also be made of a great number of judgments of the International Court of Justice, which give recognition to the right of peoples to self-determination providing that the territorial integrity of a state concerned and inviolability of its frontiers are respected. While considering the right to self-determination, the UN Human Rights Committee also emphasises the internal nature of this right. The referendas in Abkhazia and South Ossetia referred to by the president of Russia as the basis of his decision were declared as illegitimate by the international community for they were held in violation of all basic principles of international law. The destiny of a concrete territory can be only decided by its indigenous population. And the indigenous population of the autonomous republic of Abkhazia is not made up of only those people who survived the ethnic cleansing and remained to live on the territory of Abkhazia, Georgia, but also of all internally displaced persons and refugees who became targets of ethnic persecution. The ethnic cleansing mentioned above was recognised by the OSCE Summits in 1994, 1996 and 1998 and the UN General Assembly’s Resolution of 15 May 2008. The referendum indicated by the Russian Federation involved only a certain part of the indigenous population of Abkhazia, Georgia, who were exposed to obvious interference from the external forces, the Russian Federation in particular. By this time estimated 2/3 of the indigenous population had been expelled from the territory of Abkhazia, Georgia. The results of the plebiscite held on 28 November 1996 indicate that an absolute majority (99%) of internally displaced persons from Abkhazia unanimously support the definition of the status of this territory only after the restoration of Georgia’s territorial integrity. Also groundless is the reference in the Russian President’s statement to Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (UN General Assembly Resolution 2625 (XXV) 24 October 1970). The Declaration’s formulation of the principle of the equal rights and self-determination of peoples makes clear its specific implications: ‘to bring a speedy end to colonialism, having due regard to the freely expressed will of the peoples concerned’. This provision carried a particularly meaningful focus in the period following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but after a span of 17 years, with the former Soviet republics already subjects of international law and the epoch of colonialism well sunk into oblivion, it should have long exhausted its topical meaning. With respect to the aforesaid Principle, the Declaration gives a clear explanation that ‘Nothing in the foregoing paragraphs shall be construed as authorising or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in compliance with the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”. Moreover, the last paragraph of the same Principle: ‘Every State shall refrain from any action aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other State or country’ contains a direct prohibition for the states against actions that the Russian Federation has been carrying out systematically. The territorial integrity of Georgia has been recognised by the world community, including the Russian Federation. Georgia’s territorial integrity and inviolability of frontiers have also been upheld in all respective documents adopted by various international multilateral forums. Georgia defined its state borders in full compliance with all principles of international law, on the basis of the 1921 Constitution of Georgia and the principle of uti possidetis stipulating that administrative borders of the Georgian SSR be recognised as state borders of Georgia until their final detailed delimitation, including the territories of the autonomous republic of Abkhazia and the autonomous region of South Ossetia.The actions of the Russian Federation also contradict the UN Security Council’s resolutions recognising the territorial integrity of Georgia and adopted with the participation ofthe Russian Federation: 876 (1993), 881 (1993), 892 (1993), 896 (1994), 906 (1994), 937 (1994), 971 (1995), 993 (1995), 1036 (1996), 1065 (1996), 1096 (1997), 1124 (1997), 1150 (1998), 1187 (1998), 1225 (1999), 1255 (1999), 1287 (2000), 1311 (2000), 1339 (2001), 1364 (2001), 1393 (2002), 1427 (2002), 1462 (2003), 1494 (2003), 1524 (2004), 1554 (2004), 1582 (2005), 1615 (2005), 1666 (2006), 1752 (2007), 1781 (2007), 1808 (2008). In accordance with Article 25 of the UN Charter, resolutions of the Security Council are binding on all members of the United Nations. Any such resolution may be overruled by a next resolution adopted by the Security Council. Hence, no state is authorised to adopt unilaterally any decision contradicting the Security Council’s resolution, or to discuss in other multilateral format any issue within the Security Council’s competence without previous authorisation of the Security Council. Due consideration should also be given to Resolution N62/249 (15 May 2008) of the UN General Assembly unambiguously recognising Abkhazia as an integral part of Georgia.Russia claims that a state should be ruled by a government that represents all its population. There arises a rhetorical question: does it also hold true about the separatist authorities of Abkhazia and South Ossetia? Given that a vast majority of the indigenous population of these regions numbering over half a million could not take part in the election of the so-called ‘democratic government’ due to their forced expulsion from the original places of residence as a result of the ethnic cleansing conducted by the Russian Authorities. It is cynical of Russia having violated the fundamental principle of the UN Charter on the non-use of force to accuse Georgia of the actions perpetrated by Russia itself.Based on the foregoing, there is hardly any norm to be found in the entire international law system, which, in case of its due interpretation, would bring into legal frames the decision of Russia on the recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. For the time being the ethnic cleansing of Georgians on the Russian occupied territories, both in Abkhazia and South Ossetia and beyond is still under way. Moreover, after the Russian President’s recognition of independence of the separatist regions, the ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population has become even more intense. It provides yet another proof that persecution of ethnic Georgians on the occupied territories is a deliberate policy aimed at achieving political goals rather than being isolated cases of violence. Through military aggression against and occupation of Georgia and by unilateral recognition of independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Russian Federation has shown to the international community that it does not refrain from violation of the fundamental principles of international law and illegal and indiscriminate use of force against its neighbouring sovereign state. Russia’s aggressive acts threaten not only Georgia’s statehood but the modern world order as well since they aim at reinstating Cold War realities and run counter to the historical process of international community development based on democracy, equality and supremacy of international law. It is a highly regrettable that the UN Security Council’s permanent member is in deliberate violation of the fundamental principles, without strict adherence to which a peaceful and fair international order becomes a hardly conceivable prospect.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-55916565246005633902008-08-28T17:25:00.000+04:002008-08-28T17:32:21.775+04:00Timeline for 27th August<strong>27 AUGUST</strong><br /><br />18:35 Remaining 85 Georgian civilian hostages held by Ossetian forces have been released from Tskhinvali.<br /><br />07:00 The US Coast Guard battleship “Dallas”, loaded with humanitarian aid, enters Batumi port.State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-80465673052515986612008-08-28T16:44:00.001+04:002008-08-28T16:47:56.510+04:00КРАЕУГОЛЬНЫЕ КАМНИ<strong>Eжедневный Журнал</strong><br />27 АВГУСТА 2008 г.<br /><br />АЛЕКСАНДР ЧЕРКАСОВ<br /><br />26 августа 2007 года президент России Дмитрий Медведев подписал Указы о признании Российской Федерацией Абхазии и Южной Осетии.<br />В качестве международно-правовой основы для такого признания власти России ссылаются на положения Резолюции ООН 2625 (XXV) от 24 октября 1970 года о принципе права народов на самоопределение.<br />Накануне с призывом признать "непризнанные республики" к президенту единогласно обратились верхняя и нижняя палаты российского парламента.<br />Обосновывая обращение, спикер верхней палаты Сергей Миронов, в частности, сказал, что в соответствии с действовавшим в СССР законодательством, при выходе союзной республики из состава Союза надлежало отдельно проводить референдум в республиках автономных. Если же автономные республики — Абхазия и Южная Осетия — не изъявили желания покинуть СССР вместе с Грузией, то они с тех пор являются самостоятельными субъектами международного права, независимыми государствами.<br />Однако возникают несколько формальных проблем.<br />Во-первых, спикер Совета Федерации мимоходом обосновал необходимость признания независимости Чеченской Республики. Чечня не участвовала в общесоюзных и общероссийских голосованиях, начиная с мартовского референдума 1991 года, когда ставился вопрос о сохранении СССР и о введении поста президента России, и в дальнейшем заявила о выходе из состава СССР и Российской Федерации.<br />Во-вторых, Резолюция 1970 года, на которую ссылаются власти России — "Декларация о принципах международного права относительно дружеских отношений и сотрудничества между Государствами в соответствии с Хартией Объединённых Наций", — вряд ли поможет обосновать признание Абхазии и Южной Осетии.<br />Она была, как следует из текста, принята во вполне конкретных условиях.<br />В разделе "Принцип равного права народов на самоопределение" Резолюции ООН 2625 (XXV) от 24 октября 1970 года содержится, во-первых, указание на то, для чего и в каком контексте она действует: "Дабы скорейшим образом покончить с колониализмом путем свободного выражения воли народов" ("To bring a speedly end to kolonialism, having due regard to the freely expressed will of the peoples concerned").<br />Возможно, на этот документ было бы уместно ссылаться в период распада СССР (если современные российские власти считают Советский Союз колониальной империей!) — но не семнадцать лет спустя, когда бывшие советские республики уже давно являются признанными (в том числе и взаимно!) субъектами международного права.<br />Ведь в последнем абзаце того же раздела чётко оговорено, для чего эта резолюция не должна быть использована: "Любое Государство будет воздерживаться от каких-либо действий, направленных на частичное или полное нарушение национального единства и территориальной целостности любого другого Государства или страны" ("Every State shall refrain from any action aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other State or country").<br />А следующий раздел Резолюции 2625 называется "Принцип равенства суверенитета Государств".<br />Иными словами, тот раздел документа должен был лишь упорядочить процесс распада колониальных империй — и только, без дальнейшего использования в межгосударственных отношениях.<br />Отдельный вопрос — будет ли признание независимости способствовать защите прав людей, живущих в Абхазии и Южной Осетии, в России и в Грузии.<br />Ведь, в конце концов, соблюдение прав конкретных людей важнее обоих принципов — как права народов на самоопределение, так и суверенитета государств.<br />Есть три важнейших условия, на которых может основываться урегулирование на Кавказе: неприменение силы, соблюдение прав человека, верховенство права.<br />А с точки зрения последнего условия, решение властей Российской Федерации о признании Абхазии и Южной Осетии представляется сомнительным, поскольку, мягко говоря, небесспорны правовые основания этого решения.<br />Можно, вослед Талейрану, сказать: "Это ошибка".<br /><br /><em>http://www.ej.ru/?a=note&amp;id=8348</em>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-2893623934708020332008-08-28T16:37:00.000+04:002008-08-28T16:39:07.501+04:00Statement on Georgia by G7 Foreign MinistersAugust 27, 2008<br />No. 185<br /><br /><strong>The Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his G7 counterparts today issued the following joint statement on the situation in Georgia:<br /></strong>“We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, condemn the action of our fellow G8 member. Russia’s recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia violates the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia and is contrary to UN Security Council Resolutions supported by Russia. Russia’s decision has called into question its commitment to peace and security in the Caucasus. “We deplore Russia’s excessive use of military force in Georgia and its continued occupation of parts of Georgia. We call unanimously on the Russian government to implement in full the six point peace plan brokered by President Sarkozy on behalf of the EU, in particular to withdraw its forces behind the pre-conflict lines. We reassert our strong and continued support for Georgia’s sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders and underline our respect and support for the democratic and legitimate government of Georgia as we pursue a peaceful, durable solution to this conflict.”State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1426767112745393958.post-3701335936397426642008-08-28T16:32:00.001+04:002008-08-28T16:35:12.089+04:00Moscow's plan is to redraw the map of EuropeFINANCIAL TIMES<br />Thursday, August 28, 2008<br /><br /><strong>By Mikheil Saakashvili</strong><br /><br />Any doubts about why Russia invaded Georgia have now been erased. By illegally recognising the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, made clear that Moscow's goal is to redraw the map of Europe using force.<br />This war was never about South Ossetia or Georgia. Moscow is using its invasion, prepared over years, to rebuild its empire, seize greater control of Europe's energy supplies and punish those who believed democracy could flourish on its borders. Europe has reason to worry. Thankfully, most of the international community has condemned the invasion and confirmed their unwavering support for Georgia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.<br />Our first duty is to highlight Russia's Orwellian tactics. Moscow says it invaded Georgia to protect its citizens in South Ossetia. Over the past five years it cynically laid the groundwork for this pretence, by illegally distributing passports in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, "manufacturing" Russian citizens to protect. The cynicism of Russia's concern for ethnic minorities can be expressed in one word: Chechnya.<br />This cynicism has become hypocritical and criminal. Since Russia's invasion, its forces have been "cleansing" Georgian villages in both regions – including outside the conflict zone – using arson, rape and execution. Human rights groups have documented these actions. Moscow has flipped the Kosovo precedent on its head: where the west acted to prevent ethnic cleansing, in Georgia ethnic cleansing is being used by Russia to consolidate its military annexation.<br />Other Russian lies have also been debunked. The most egregious was Moscow's absurd claim on the eve of the invasion that Georgia was committing genocide in South Ossetia, with 2,000 civilian deaths. A week later, Moscow admitted that only 133 people had died. These were overwhelmingly military casualties and came after the Russian invasion. But the genocide claim served its goal. In a media era hungry for content, the big lie still works.<br />Russia's campaign to redraw the map of Europe is based on the propagation of misinformation. On Wednesday on this page, Mr Medvedev asserted that Georgia attacked South Ossetia. In fact, our forces entered the conflict zone after Russia rolled its tanks on to our soil, passing through the Roki tunnel into South Ossetia, Georgia. Mr Medvedev also claimed Russia had no designs on our territory. Why then did it bomb and occupy Georgian cities such as Gori? Why does it continue to occupy our strategic port of Poti?<br />Moscow also counts on historical amnesia. It hopes the west will forget ethnic cleansing in Abkhazia drove out more than three-quarters of the local population – ethnic Georgians, Greeks, Jews and others – leaving the minority Abkhaz in control. Russia also wants us to forget that South Ossetia was run not by its residents (almost half were Georgian before this month's ethnic cleansing) but by Russian officials. When the war started, South Ossetia's de facto prime minister, defence minister and security minister were ethnic Russians with no ties to the region.<br />The next step in Russia's invasion script, of disinformation and annexation, is regime change. If Moscow can oust Georgia's democratically elected government, it can then intimidate other democratic European governments. Where will this end? What we know about Russia, and especially the current regime, is not encouraging.<br />Last week Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, put us on alert: "Russia does not really know where it begins and where it ends." He noted that the Moscow regime is "a lot more sophisticated" than the Soviets under Leonid Brezhnev. He should know – he was on the front line the last time Russia invaded a European country.<br />Mr Medvedev is now making menacing statements about Ukraine and Moldova and is replicating its Georgia strategy in the Crimea by distributing Russian passports. The message is clear. Russia will do as it pleases.<br />I believe the most potent western response to Russia is to stay united and firm by providing immediate material and political support. If Moscow is trying to overthrow our government using its lethal tools, let us resist with democratic tools that have sustained more than 60 years of Euro-Atlantic peace. Backing Georgia with Europe's political and financial institutions is a powerful response. Regrettably, this story is no longer about my small country, but the west's ability to stand its ground to defend a principled approach to international security and keep the map of Europe intact.<br /><br /><strong>The writer is president of Georgia</strong>State Minister Of REINTEGRATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16789329162486293022noreply@blogger.com0